


How to Treat Your Lover - Book 1

by tamibrandt



Series: How to Treat Your Lover Saga [1]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BDSM, Canonical Character Death, M/M, Male Slash, Vampire Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-02-17
Updated: 2008-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-06 14:23:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 122,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/419886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamibrandt/pseuds/tamibrandt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)<br/>Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy.  Rated NC-17</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note - This story came to me after watching how Buffy treated Spike in SMASHED - AS YOU WERE (BTVS, Season 6). I wondered how Angel would truly feel, if he really knew how Buffy mistreated Spike. Yes, Spike is the Big Bad, and he and Angel normally don't see eye-to-eye, but they are family nonetheless

##  _Prologue: A Sire’s Request_

As the sun sank below the horizon, Angel removed the Ring of Amara from his finger. He picked up a brick and smashed the small bit of metal and jewel. He looked back at Doyle with a look of finality.

“Oh, and that Rachel girl with the crazy boyfriend called. Said to say thanks, and that she found a little faith. Said you’d know what that means,” Doyle reported to his friend and boss.

“I don’t know about you, but I had a nice day,” Angel said looking out at the night sky. “You know, except for the bulk of it, where I was nearly tortured to death by my childe,” he said wryly.

“Yeah, well, you stood up,” Doyle commended.

Angel rolled his eyes. “Oh, God. I was this close to telling him everything. I mean, one more hot poker and I was going to give him the ring, your mom – everything,” Angel gave Doyle a rare smile of amusement. “How is your mom?”

He opened the fire escape door to his building and followed the Brachen demon inside.

“She’s fine, and thank you for not giving my mother up to the torturous vampire Angel,” Doyle said gratefully.

“Eh, I would have inflicted worse pain in my soulless days. Marcus was only touching the icing as far as tortures went, but damn I did _not_ enjoy being his guinea pig,” Angel said sardonically.

The two friends walked as far as the main floor, said their goodbyes and broke away. Doyle left to go back to his apartment; Angel took the lift downstairs to his. When the platform hit the bottom floor, a familiar scent came to through the wire cage surrounding the elevator shaft. It wasn’t the hint of cigarette smoke or the odor of whiskey, which sickened him that drew his attention. It was the scent of Spike.

Angel growled. _That boy will never learn. First he kidnaps me, has me tortured, too vain to do it himself, and now . . . ? Now he’s camped out in my apartment_.

Angel swung the door to the lift open and stomped into his home, bypassing the living room he headed toward the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a bag of blood, trying hard to ignore Spike sitting at his kitchen table and smoking. _At least he had manners enough to use the ashtray_.

“Wot, no hello?” Spike asked in mock hurt.

“What have we got to say to each other, Spike?” Angel asked as he threw the bag of blood in the microwave and turned it on.

“How about ‘Hello, Spike, why are you here?’ or ‘What do you want before I throw you back out on your arse?’” Spike ran through the numerous options of what Angel could say to him.

Spike shifted uneasily on the chair. He always hated Angelus’ silent treatment. The blonde vampire craved any attention he could get from Drusilla, from Angelus, hell, even from Darla. Now, Angel ignored him as best he could and it made Spike uncomfortable.

“How about ‘I don’t want you anywhere near me or mine after spending the better part of the day having me tortured over a God damned ring, Spike?’” Angel asked sarcastically.

“Hey I dug up Sunnydale for that ring; I fought a Slayer for that ring --”

“And lost it to said Slayer.” Angel cut in.

“It’s mine fair and square!” Spike yelled over Angel’s voice.

Angel walked over and picked Spike up by the lapels of his duster, and smashed him back against the stove.

“The ring was not yours. It will never be yours, Spike. It’s gone! Destroyed! No longer existent on this earth!” Angel growled at his child.

Spike moaned softly at the sudden contact of his Sire pushing his hips against the stove. He tried hard to hide his reaction from his Sire who hadn’t touched him in a century or more. He gritted his teeth against the electricity that flowed down to his cock; the appendage hardening against his will.

Angel glared at Spike, not acknowledging the condition the younger vampire was working himself into by rubbing his crotch that way. His own cock hardened from the long, lonely century away from his childe. For good measure, Angel bucked his hips hard, shoving Spike back against the stove and they both moaned.

“You know, Spike, I thought after all the years we were together you’d have picked up enough skills on torturing that you wouldn’t need to hire a psychotic vampire like Marcus to do your dirty work for you. Did Angelus teach you nothing?” Angel queried.

“Angelus taught me plenty about pain, Angel. Things that, as a vampire with a soul, you’d never carry out because they were too degrading for the likes of you,” Spike shot back.

“You think so, boy? Angelus is still buried deep inside me somewhere, I think his return could be arranged,” Angel grated out.

Spike’s eyes lit up in surprise mixed with fear. He had wanted to taunt Angel, but he really didn’t miss his sadistic Sire. Angelus redefined the meaning of pain and torture. Nights of being hung up and whipped or painfully seduced into an excruciating need for release. Since then, Spike had groomed himself to be the Big Bad. The one vampire other vampires feared; he was a fledging vampire under the tutelage of the legendary Angelus. Spike was his own man now.

“Angel,” Spike choked out before . . .

Angel pulled Spike closer by his lapels and vamped, sinking his fangs into his childe. He growled as he fed, causing the blonde vampire to moan and thrash his hips against his Sire, trying to throw the elder vampire off of him. Angel took long, hard sips of his childe’s blood; letting Spike writhe against him until the younger vampire went still, capitulating to his dominant Sire.

Angel retracted his fangs and licked the wounds closed, sending a shudder through Spike. He let go of Spike and sat down in the seat vacated by Spike earlier. “Tell me what’s gone on in Sunnydale since I was there last.”

Spike had to grip the stove to keep from collapsing on the floor when Angel let go of him. The other vampire had left him hard and wanting and sat there in front of him like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. Spike growled under his breath. _Poncy bastard knew what he was doing when he pulled that dominant move on me_.

“Spike,” Angel said to get his attention. “Sunnydale: what’s gone on?”

“I don’t know, Peaches, but when I got there, your girl was being used by some pillock college student just in it for a good lay. You know how your Slayer is. Sex is a relationship with birdies, flowers and all that rot,” Spike said, watching his Sire for any reaction of his news about Buffy.

“She what?” Angel croaked, nearly choking on his blood drink.

“What what? Oh. You mean Buffy. Some git that wouldn’t know the bleedin’ end of a wooden stake had a go at your girl,” Spike said in a snarky manner.

Angel gave Spike a hard look. His Buffy had moved on? He knew he told her that they had to be away from each other. That he couldn’t lose himself in her no matter how much he wanted to. That’s why he had moved to L.A., one hundred and fifty miles from Sunnydale, making his Slayer so close yet so far away. But to hear that she had moved on to a human boy? He stared hard at Spike with a jealous glint in his eyes.

Spike looked back at Angel and for a moment he thought he saw a bit of Angelus creep through to the surface. He knew the older vampire had claimed the Slayer. He could smell his Sire on her and see the mark on her neck when they fought in the Quad. His Sire was one greedy, possessive bastard when he wanted to be. He saw that possessive heat rise in Angel’s eyes even now.

Angel looked Spike over hungrily as he remembered hot nights in Tuscany with just him and Spike, Darla and Drusilla not around, either on holiday or asleep in other rooms, he couldn’t remember.

What Angel did remember, vividly, was the glow of Spike’s alabaster skin in the moonlight through the open windows. It was one of the few times Angelus was gentle with William. The younger man’s anal passage wrapped tight around his cock, hot from feeding on Tuscan maids before they had returned home. Will’s cries of ecstasy echoed in his mind as he remembered leaning over the blonde vampire’s slim, muscular body and thrusting his cock deep and hard into his childe’s ass.

Angel shook his head to clear it of memories and refocused on the vampire before him. His mind drifted to thoughts of the overindulgence of blood during sex. Spike’s blood was always sweeter in the heat of passion. Sweeter than the blood he drank now. Even sweeter than Buffy’s slayer blood, because it was the blood of his childe.

God, he had to stop thinking of Spike. Their time was over a century ago. There was no way his childe would accept him now. Not without dominating the younger vampire with his status over him. Spike was no longer a fledgling vampire, but a master in his own right. He wouldn’t succumb to Angel’s will anymore.

“She’s mine! Just as you are mine, William,” Angel growled at his childe. “I claimed her. She told me she would always be my girl. _My girl_ , Spike! I look after what’s mine.”

Spike was startled at first by the possessive growl that came from his Sire’s chest. He hadn’t seen this level of possessive instinct since he and Drusilla ran off in London to crash a Duke’s party in 1889, and a warlock tried to make off with Drusilla. Angelus had come barreling through the doors and snatched Drusilla back before he beat the guy to a bleeding mass of flesh and then drank him dry.

“Like you look after me, Angelus?” Spike asked, angry that his Sire cared more about the Slayer than he did his own blood.

“I’ve always looked after you, Will, even when you never realized it. I’ve always kept tabs on you,” Angel admitted before going on, “Now I want you to do something for me. Go back to Sunnydale and look out for her. I’ll feel better knowing you’re watching out for her than any mortal boy.”

Spike sighed and nodded. The blonde vampire stood up, stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray and used the grate in the floor to leave Angel by way of the sewer tunnels. He hoped he wouldn’t regret acquiescing to his Sire’s request.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 1: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 1)_

Angel sat alone in the dark with a glass of blood; the creaking of the old building the only sound that could be heard in the still night. The wheels were turning in his head as he thought of Spike. They had been ever since the blonde vampire left. Every time he saw his childe he never knew whether to strangle him or fuck him. Spike liked both so, whichever whim struck Angel at the moment will probably work for him. The reasons for both were also up in the air. Did he want to strangle Spike now because the blonde remind him of his past, or did he want to renew their acquaintance and reclaim his childe again?

Tonight, though, tonight Spike had brought news of Buffy. His childe had told him that Buffy had moved on to a mortal boy who had broken her heart, much as he had when he unwillingly left her. Buffy was still his mate; he had marked her several months ago when he drank from her after Faith shot him with the poisoned arrow. Buffy would be his until he dusted.

He had hated himself from the very moment he had told her to find someone that she could be with in the sunlight. To make up for his past transgression, he had sent his childe back to watch over her. Even if he couldn’t be with her, he trusted Spike to look after her. Spike could protect her, look after her and watch her back. Angel hoped that Buffy didn’t abuse the gift he had given her in sending Spike back to her.

Alone, in the dark, he allowed himself to remember those nights in Tuscany. Drusilla wasn’t herself more than usual and abandoned Spike for other pleasures. Darla dissatisfied with the attention she did receive from Angelus, which was minimal at the time, had followed Drusilla out to seek her fun elsewhere. The girls always returned to the family when the novelty of each new endeavor they pursued wore off. So, Angelus had thought nothing of it when they left.

However, in leaving, Drusilla had left Spike in Angelus’ care and tutelage. It was up to Angelus to shape the boy into a worthy vampire. Something his Sire should have done but she was too busy to be bothered or too insane to care. As seeming head of the family, Angelus took it upon himself to teach Spike the do’s and don’ts of vampirism, thus their nights of debauchery started.

**************************

**_Tuscany, 1883_ **

_If Drusilla was going to leave her childe unattended then Angelus had best make use of him. Since no one else was around to torture, who better than William, or Spike, as he had called himself these days? Hence, the reason they were in an unused bedroom of the house they had rented – well, not so much rented, as killed the owners and took it._

_Angelus had a naked Spike hanging from the ceiling by a sturdy steel bar. The blonde vampire hung there with his arms above his head. Each lash that the older vampire administered broke tiny slivers of skin all over the younger vampire’s back and torso. Every swing drew an intake of breath from him. Each crack of the whip did more than welt the skin; it bruised, stung and finally created narrow, shallow cuts that quickly healed and were replaced by new cuts._

_Spike gritted his teeth with every stinging pain of the short strip of leather that his Grandsire used. The cutting pain repelled him just as much as it aroused him. Every pore in his body throbbed and inflamed into a mass of abused flesh._

_Soon Spike couldn’t hide the telltale signs of his response to Angelus’ treatment. The awareness was too much. Angelus continued the onslaught until every fiber of Spike’s being, every pore of his skin, every nerve hummed to life and sent frisson after frisson of electricity through his body straight to his cock. Spike’s shaft hardened to painful proportions, even as he balled his hands up against the throbbing; his nails slicing into his palms to keep from crying out._

_When Angelus saw that Spike was as hard as he would ever be, he stepped back and went to a small table. He put the whip down and picked up a soft leather cock ring. He turned back to face Spike and went to stand in front of the other vampire. Reaching down, Angelus wrapping his big hand around his grandchilde’s cock and stroked quickly until he wrung a cry out of Spike. Then he placed the ring on the younger vampire’s shaft at the base._

_“Bloody hell!” Spike swore under his breath. Angelus was surely going to kill him from this new torment._

_Angelus grinned at Spike evilly before unbinding his hands from their restraints. Tugging the younger vampire over to the bed, he sat back against the headboard and pulled the blonde between his legs. Angelus gripped Spike’s hair and pulled back making the blonde vampire’s lips open before thrusting his cock into his mouth and down his throat in one thrust._

_Angelus held on to his grandchilde’s head and proceeded to thrust his cock into a mouth that was, at first, slack, but then began to suck tight around his thick shaft. Angelus groaned in response when he felt a moan from his grandchilde vibrate around his engorged length._

_Angelus felt that the first step in teaching Spike was obedience toward his elders. That was the lesson for tonight as he maneuvered Spike’s mouth in all the right ways with a firm hand on the back of his grandchilde’s head._

**************************

Angel rubbed his shaft through his jeans at the vivid memory of what it felt like to have his entire cock buried to the hilt in Spike’s throat. He pulled his hardened member free and proceeded to pump his hand over the length of his manhood while imagining the blonde vampire’s cool mouth engulfing him, drawing forth his orgasm. Angel moaned and groaned in guttural growls as he tightened his grip on his shaft. His hand moved faster and harder until he growled out his childe’s name, and his cool release coated his hand.

**************************

**_Sunnydale, UC Sunnydale Campus_ **

_What was with vampires fighting in the Quad?_ Buffy thought as she kicked the vampire in the chest, knocking him on his back and running away from the view of the prying eyes of college students. She had to relocate this fight to a less conspicuous place. The vampire rolled to his feet and chased after her to a secluded area of the campus.

Once she reached a good spot, she turned and faced the vampire. “Thanks for the relocate. I perform better without an audience.” Buffy started laying her fists and kicks into the vampire, pummeling him. “What? You were thinking a little helpless coed before bed? You know very well, you eat this late . . .” Buffy took a moment to stake the vampire when she finally had him at a disadvantage. “You’re gonna get heartburn. Get it? Heartburn?”

The vampire dusted without giving a reaction to Buffy’s quipping remarks. Buffy gave a disgusted look at the dust at her feet. “That’s it? That’s all I get: one lame-ass vampire with no appreciation for my painstakingly thought-out puns? I don’t think the forces of darkness are even trying. I mean, you could make a little effort here. You know, give me something to work with.”

Buffy walked by a decorative shrub, only to be grabbed from behind and pulled back against a hard-muscled chest with a hand clamped over her mouth.

“Watch your mouth, little girl. You should know better than to tempt the fates that way. ’Cause the Big Bad is back,” Spike’s voice purred near her ear.

An erotic shiver she hadn’t felt in a long while ran down her back and pooled between her thighs when she heard the distinctive British voice fan her ear. _Finally, here was someone worthy of a good thrashing and my puns._ Buffy squirmed against Spike to get away from him. Spike’s grip tightened on her, though.

“Going somewhere, pet?” Spike asked in a light sarcastic tone.

Buffy gripped Spike’s wrist and used his body weight to flip him over her back and on to the ground at her feet. She straddled his waist and held a stake poised above his heart. Spike raised his hands up in quick surrender. His blue eyes bored into her hazel ones.

“I give up!” Spike said immediately. “I’m not here to hurt you, but if you want to spar, let me up and we’ll have a go at it.”

“Newsflash, Spike: you’re a vampire, I’m a slayer. Of course you’re here to hurt me,” Buffy said in aggravation.

“Well, yeah, you being my enemy and all. But I’ve come to call a truce,” Spike said.

“A truce with an evil, soulless, vampire? No thanks,” Buffy said and drew back the stake to plunge it in Spike’s heart.

Spike grabbed the stake, wrapping his fingers around her hand, stopping its descent. “Yes, well none of us has a choice in this now do we,” Spike said sarcastically.

“What are you talking about, Spike?” Buffy asked, confused.

“Bloody hell! Nothing,” Spike swore under his breath in agitation.

Spike ground his teeth, threw her off him and got up. He glared at her before he turned on his heel and walked away from her. He had to find a place to sleep for the next forty-eight hours. The drive to L.A. to torture his Sire, have a talk with the ponce that had him agreeing to come back here to watch over the little bint had taken its toll on his sleep-deprived body. What in the unholy bloody hell made him agree with his Sire to come back here to Sunnydale to look after his _ex-girlfriend_?

Buffy was left standing there in a confused state watching Spike walk away from her shaking his head as if he were mulling something over with himself. The blonde vampire was an enigma to her. He was a cross between upper-crust English bred, lower-crust English morals, barroom brawler that matched her in fighting skills, street-smart and book-savvy all rolled into one. Spike had a lot of personality for being undead, soulless and evil.

Buffy ran after Spike until she caught up with him walking through the cemetery. “Hey, wait up! What did you mean by, ‘none of us had a choice in the matter’?” She grabbed his coat sleeve and turned him around.

Spike heaved a sigh of agitation and faced her. “Look, I just got back from a _very_ long two days. I’m tired and hungry. So, unless you’re offering your neck as a chalice and body as a vessel, then I suggest you find another Big Baddie to fight tonight, luv.”

Spike’s crude words repulsed her even as a shiver ran down her spine. She supposed she’d leave the topic for now and let him be. Although, for the life of her she didn’t understand why she wanted to know why he was back here anyway. Harmony was still around Sunnydale not making much noise as far as dead bodies piling up. Maybe he was going back to her.

Buffy cringed at the thought of Harmony, even an undead Harmony, getting to be around the gorgeous vampire. What the hell was she thinking? _Spike . . . gorgeous? Not only that, but I’m jealous of Harmony for being able to be around him?_ She was the Vampire Slayer; she couldn’t be thinking fuzzy, warm feelings for the undead. Well, that was her rule at least since Angel left her.

Spike sighed in relief when he realized Buffy was no longer following him. The last thing he needed was her following him around like a lost puppy nipping at his heels. Just because he agreed to watch her back didn’t mean that he wanted to get stuck baby-sitting her twenty-four hours a day. He found a suitable crypt and promptly fell asleep the second he found a comfortable position on the sarcophagus inside.

**************************

**_Tuscany, 1883_ **

_Drusilla had left him to his own devices nowadays while she traipsed off with or without Darla for something else to play with for a while. Spike was hurt that she had lost interest in him after two years of debauchery. Other than the feeling of abandonment by his Sire, he thought nothing of how she left or that she left him with Angelus._

_It wasn’t until a week had passed that he noticed Angelus looking at him as if he were the finest choice of meat in the butcher shop. After the initial meeting with his Grandsire, in which the older vampire tested his worthiness as a man and fellow hunting companion, Angelus had, for the most part let him be. Until now._

_Angelus had grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him down the hallway to an unused bedroom of the house they had rented – well, not so much rented, as Angelus and Darla killed the owners and took it._

_Angelus had him naked and hanging from the ceiling by a sturdy steel bar. Spike hung there with his arms above his head. Each flog that the older vampire administered broke tiny slivers of skin all over his back and torso. Every thrash drew an intake of breath from him. Each crack of the whip did more than welt the skin; it bruised, stung and finally created narrow, shallow cuts that quickly healed and were replaced by new cuts._

_Spike gritted his teeth against every nipping pain of the short strip of leather that his Grandsire used. His body responded against his will as the whipping made every fiber of his undead being sing. The pain turned to pleasure and as much as he tried to hide his body’s reaction from Angelus, it just couldn’t be done. Upon his turning, Drusilla never explained the pleasure a vampire derived from pain, either causing it or receiving it. As a human he was brought up as any ordinary man to fear pain. But his vampire-enhanced senses afforded him a new outlook on pleasure and pain. It felt different. Each new tingle brought a new sensation of soreness behind it. As his body became used to the monotonous motion of the lashing, the pain became erotic._

_Soon Spike could only hang there with his cock sticking straight out, belying the pleasure he derived from Angelus’ treatment. The feeling was too much for his overridden senses. He closed his eyes so that he didn’t have to look Angelus in the eye as his body betrayed him. With his eyes shut tight, he let his body relax and sway to the strike of the whip across his pale skin until every fiber of his being, every pore of his skin; every nerve hummed and registered through his body straight to his dick. Spike’s shaft hardened to painful proportions even as he balled his hands up against the throbbing, his nails slicing into his palms to keep from crying out._

_When Spike’s body had reached its pinnacle, he felt Angelus step back. He opened his eyes in time to see his Grandsire move to a small table. The elder vampire put the whip down and picked up a soft leather cock ring. He turned back to face the blonde and went to stand in front of him. Spike’s eyes followed Angelus’ every movement as he reached down, wrapped a big hand around his cock and stroked quickly until a cry rang out of him. Then Angelus placed the ring on the younger vampire’s shaft at the base._

_“Bloody hell!” Spike swore under his breath. Angelus was surely going to kill him from this new torment._

_Angelus grinned at Spike evilly before unbinding his hands from their restraints. Tugging the younger vampire over to the bed, he sat back against the head board and pulled the blonde between his legs. Angelus gripped Spike’s hair and pulled back making the blonde vampire’s lips open before thrusting his cock into his mouth and down his throat in one thrust._

_Angelus held on to his grandchilde’s head and proceeded to thrust his cock into a mouth that was, at first, slack, but then began to suck tight around his thick shaft. Angelus groaned in response when he felt a moan from his grandchilde vibrate around his engorged length._

_Spike had never thought of himself as a poof but then he had been a virgin up until he met Drusilla. For some odd reason, being in this position with Angelus didn’t seem entirely wrong, just different._

_When Angelus thrust his cock down the blonde’s throat Spike realized that as an undead being, he didn’t need to breathe to sustain his life. With this new knowledge, he wanted to test the longevity, closed his throat around his grandsire’s cock and proceeded to suck the flesh off the hardened muscle. He licked the length of the shaft from tip to base and back with each pass, taking the cock to the root and then releasing it slowly._

_Spike felt a shiver run down his spine when he heard Angelus’ groan in response to his own growl around the appendage in his mouth. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the task and let Angelus direct him by a hand on his head as the elder vampire sought pleasure._

**************************

Spike moaned in his sleep as the vivid dreams of days long gone teased his body. Even though he was asleep, with vampire senses on alert to any intruder that may show up, he was well aware of the hardened state of his body. The way the fly of his jeans chafed his cock wasn’t helping matters by any means, either, or the act of nearly releasing himself at the memory of how Angelus took him that night.

Spike opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of the crypt for a while before his stomach growled at him. He growled back and rose to stand. Instead of using the door and quite possibly running into the Slayer he took the ladder to the lower level of the crypt and went through the sewers.

He came out of the sewer entrance near the college only to see a group of commando-dressed boys with weapons approaching. He slunk back into the shadows and watched them pass by. When the coast was clear, Spike took off for his crypt to hide out for the time being.

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel’s Apartment_ **

Angel was sitting on his couch deep in thought. It wasn’t the work that was getting to him. He was fine with the day-to-day chaos that had become his life here in Los Angeles.

There was the dismemberment of a psychic-surgeon who was stalking his client. He had buried the good doctor in twelve steel boxes in twenty cubic feet of concrete in the floor of L.A.’s newest subway station. That was a case he’d rather never have to repeat again.

Then there was ridding Cordelia’s new apartment of its resident evil ghost because the ex-cheerleader refused to move to another apartment only to gain her a good ghost in the end. He hoped Denis-the-Ghost had the patience to deal with her.

Then there was the sensitivity training case. Kate Lockley’s precinct had decided that their officers needed to bone up on their manners in dealing with criminals. The whole thing had turned the police station into a bunch of grown men sobbing over each other. He had to hand it to Kate though, she had poured her heart out to her father, however he would have chosen a better time than the old man’s retirement party, but hey! Who was he to judge?

Kate, herself, now there was something he hadn’t counted on when he had moved here. Angel didn’t know if she liked or hated him these days. Some days she was the nicest person in the world and helping him with cases, and other times they butted heads over the proper way to deal with the demon thugs he had to deal with every night. He wanted to be her friend and help her as well, but at this rate, he didn’t think a friendship or even a nice acquaintance was going to last long with her.

No, it wasn’t the cases he was working that were getting to him. It was when he finally fell asleep. He dreamed of Spike and his time with the blonde vampire. When slumber finally claimed him, unbidden images of the time in Tuscany where he had spent days and nights claiming the boy from Drusilla.

Drusilla was lonely and wanted someone of her own that she didn’t want to share with Darla. Angelus and Darla had suggested she find a playmate. When William had literally run into them in a crying fit, Drusilla couldn’t pass up the opportunity to follow the beautiful boy. She tracked him to the barn where he was sobbing in silence over some selfish bitch that didn’t return his favor.

When she had turned him and brought him home to show Angelus her creation, the older vampire thought he was waste of good Aurelian blood. William didn’t seem to have a vicious bone in his body, and would not likely survive on his own if he wasn’t shown the ropes and how to live like a vampire.

As with all childer who thought the moon rose and fell on their Sire, William thought that Drusilla was his salvation, his destiny. She had turned him to be her mate. That first lesson of whom and what belonged to a person was a hard one for William to learn.

In reality, Drusilla had turned him to be a companion for her when Angelus was busy with Darla and didn’t have time for her. It seemed like it took forever for William to understand that. That he was merely a stand-in for when Angelus couldn’t be there and to deal with Drusilla’s hysterics when Angelus refused to.

Once William had figured out that there was no belonging or deserving anymore, that you could take what you want, have what you want, but nothing was yours, not even your Sire. Once he had learned that, he changed his name to Spike and went on a killing spree with fangs and railroad spikes as his implements of torture.

When the body count started piling up to where not even the four of them could show their faces in cities such as London and Yorkshire without fear of a mob that was when Angelus finally had to curb his grandchilde’s bloodlust.

He may have had to curb Spike’s tendency for the macabre, but that didn’t stop him from admiring his grandchilde’s destructive nature, a majority, if not all, of which Angelus himself had inspired and encouraged. It was then, when Spike had become as deadly as himself, that he decided to override Drusilla’s claim as Sire on the boy and make Spike his childe.

**************************

**_Tuscany, 1883_ **

_A vampire’s internal clock relied on scents. The demon in them could smell the rising and setting sun long before it occurred. Where humans relied on weathervanes and the crowing of roosters to alert them to the early morning hours, a vampire could sense the approaching sun hours before the sky turned gray in the pre-dawn of the new day. The sunset was no different. The demon knew when it was safe to come out of hiding to feed._

_Angelus awoke at dusk and explored the room by demon-sight. Even though he was a 130-year-old vampire, he refused to live underground like the Master. He preferred soft beds and luxurious estates. He enjoyed engaging with the aristocracy even as he mocked them._

_He had hunted and shared this cottage, this room with Spike for nary two weeks now. It took him a week to soften the boy to his gentle touch. Something he had never bothered with before. With Penn, he never took the time to turn the boy toward him. In fact, whenever he made a childe, he’d just as soon get them out of his hair as keep them around._

_Ah, but then Drusilla was another matter. Drusilla was his favored child, as he hoped Spike would be by the end of this little retreat when the girls returned to the fold once again. He had spent far too much time and energy on his insane childe to abandon her to her own devices. He had made her so delusional that she could never be safe by herself. No matter how vicious a killer she was._

_Angelus turned his head to gaze upon the handsome face beside him framed with soft honeyed curls. Spike had become his mirrored image. He was a beautiful specimen even with the feelings of love, affection and adoration he still kept with him despite the fact he was a soulless demon who shouldn’t care at all about anything aside from death, destruction and survival. Darla abhorred the very idea of Angelus letting Drusilla keep the boy, but then Darla missed the potential in any demon accept the Master, herself or Angelus._

_The dark vampire reached out and trailed his fingertips through the soft, golden hair of his sleeping companion. He smiled when Spike pressed into his touch and a purr vibrated in his chest. Angelus followed the shuddering movement of the blonde’s body with his hand stroking down Spike’s chest to his abdomen._

_Spike shifted under the gentle touch until Angelus’ huge hand had a tight grip on his cock and pumped his shaft in a slow, but sure caress. His eyes snapped open to meet his grandsire’s heated gaze. He couldn’t figure out what Angelus was up to. The past two weeks had confused him. Before this little trip, he thought for sure his Grandsire hated his guts and couldn’t wait to be rid of him. In the past two weeks, though, Angelus seemed to want anything but having him gone._

_Angelus had taken him out and shared in the hunt for food, taught him how to lure his prey closer, how to romance them into going anywhere he wanted them to be before feeding. Angelus had taught him the difference between a feeding and a kill. His Grandsire had taught him that he could have anyone he desired, no matter the age or gender, and take it either rough and viciously or slow and intimately._

_When they had come back to the house, Angelus had celebrated their generous feedings by teaching him that a vampire held no reservations about their desired sexual partners. Angelus had wanted him and he intended to have him._

_Angelus gave Spike a seductive and evil grin that ran a tremor of excitement through the blonde’s body straight to his cock. The shaft jumped in the hand that held it and stroked it thoroughly._

_‘Oh, God,’ Spike thought. ‘I’m going to come if he doesn’t stop soon.’_

_Angelus bent his head down to lick Spike’s neck with his rough demon-tongue at the same time he moved his hand down to massage the younger vampire’s sac._

_Spike nearly fainted at the touch, every nerve in his dead body sizzled under his grandsire’s attention. He let his thighs fall apart, granting Angelus better access to his rock-hard cock. It was then, when Angelus took advantage of the offer, that Spike opened his eyes to collide with the pure lust in the eyes of his companion._

_“What are you doing Angelus?” Spike asked his voice gravelly with sexual tension._

_“I’m just going to stake my claim, my boy. You know, our Drusilla is a crazy girl. She’d never care for you properly as a Sire should. Believe me, when I tell you, I’m not faulting her, but she’s like a childe who’s become bored with a favored toy. You’d never survive under her care. So, I’m claiming you as my childe,” Angelus explained while he continued to stroke the length of Spike’s cock and caress his balls._

_All Spike could do in response was moan as his Grandsire kept him on this side of achieving a blissful orgasm._

_Angelus smashed his lips against Spike’s mouth in a hard, demanding kiss. When the younger vampire acquiesced to the dominance in that kiss, Angelus released him and stared at him, seeking his reaction as he thrust his own harden cock against Spike’s._

_Spike growled at Angelus when he felt his grandsire’s huge hand wrap around both shafts and stroked them together. He shifted his hips off the bed in a rocking motion, thrusting and pulling his cock back and forth in the other vampire’s grip. Angelus started to bite him in another demanding kiss, nipping his tender lips with fangs until they both bled, the rich liquid trickling down their chins and throat. The heady scent of fresh blood filled the air, sending their arousal even higher._

_Angelus used the pre-cum that had begun to leak out of both their cocks to wet his fingers. He pulled back from Spike again to watch the younger vampire’s reaction as he reached down lower, under the balls, to tease his tight passage._

_Spike sucked in an unneeded breath when he felt Angelus’ fingers enter his body, readying him for what was to come. He was about to buck his hips against the thrusting fingers when they stopped and pulled away from him leaving him feeling empty._

_The next thing Spike knew he was being flipped over on his stomach; Angelus grabbed his hip and thrust his cock deep into Spike’s wet, but unprepared channel, making the blonde cry out in agony. The pain was still there when Angelus gripped his slowly deflating cock and stroked it in time with his thrusts._

_Animalistic growls sounded behind him, punctuating every deep, hard thrust that Angelus delivered to Spike’s body. The angle in which his Grandsire had him positioned caused each forceful plunge to strike the small bundle of nerves deep inside Spike turning his cries of pain to moans of ecstasy._

_Angelus reveled in his grandchilde’s responses as he pounded in and out of Spike, becoming more forceful and speeding up the tempo of his hips whenever the younger vampire’s unnecessary breath hitched in his throat. Soon the gasping breaths turned to cries for more until Angelus could stand no more and swooped down on his boy’s throat and attacked with a lustful vengeance._

_Spike growled at the feel of Angelus’ fangs viciously attacking his jugular vein. Though, once the ivory points were embedded in his flesh, his Grandsire drank from him gently, almost lovingly drawing out his blood, as if he were savoring all the flavors that washed over his tongue. Almost._

_Angelus’ driving cock slowed to near-erotic thrusts that pushed deep and hard against Spike’s prostate, sending jolt after quaking jolt of sexual electricity through the blonde vampire’s body. The pace of Angelus’ movement virtually had Spike losing himself all over the sheets and Angelus’ hand._

_Angelus retracted his fangs enough to whisper against Spike’s ear, “Don’t you dare come yet, boy.”_

_Spike growled at the command but willed himself not to come even though his companion’s withdraw from his body threatened to undo him. Angelus turned him on his back and gripped his cock again before lying over Spike and offering the other vampire his throat._

_“Drink, William,” Angelus commanded as he stroked Spike’s cock slowly._

_Spike groaned as the pleasure started to build inside him again. He felt his fangs descend and with an impious growl, sank his teeth into the proffered neck. Angelus growled at the invasion before rhythmically stroking Spike’s dick in time with the drawls the younger vampire took on his blood._

_While Spike drank his fill, Angelus whispered the incantation of the ritual. “By the Order of Aurelius, I will thee, William the Bloody, to step forward and claim his place alongside my favored childe, Drusilla. You are now and forever shall remain my own as long as my blood runs direct through your veins.”_

_Spike drank, barely discerning the words his Grandsire spoke, until the familial taste of the blood that was at first laced with familiarity had turned to the most delicious ambrosia he had ever tasted in his entire existence. At the first wave of lightheadedness, Angelus tugged on Spike’s hair and growled in command to retract his fangs. Spike reluctantly obeyed, pulling back from Angelus and relaxing into the mattress._

_Spike would have been content to merely lay there and fall asleep, but his raging hard on which was still in Angelus’ firm, but gently-stroking, grip was threatening to explode if it didn’t get some relief soon._

_“Sire?” Spike asked in a pleading voice as his stared up at Angelus through a haze of passion._

_“Yes, my childe?” Angelus inquired, pleased that Spike had taken to the change immediately._

_“Please, stroke me, fuck me, I don’t care . . . just **please** let me come!” Spike begged in an erratic voice laced with pent up tension._

_A smile teased the corners of Angelus’ mouth when he heard the plea come from his childe, now mindless in his ardor. He thrust his cock back into his childe until he was buried deep inside the tight passage, the head of his shaft pressing against the bundle of nerves inside Spike before he proceeded to stroke his childe to completion._


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 2: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 2)_

Spike was startled awake by the very vivid dream. He could still remember the scent of the Tuscan air even in his dark, dank crypt. Why was he dreaming of the days when Angelus took over the Sire-claim? The dreams had started after he got back from L.A. That damned poof of a Grandsire bit a chunk out of his throat in a show of dominance that probably re-established the link between them. So now Angelus was haunting him. He was in his dreams of passion and need . . . of a time when he learned that pain could lead to erotic satisfaction as he spent sleepless nights in his Grandsire’s bed in Tuscany.

Spike sat up and shook his head to clear it. Not accounting for the time he slept, looking out of his crypt window, he gauged it to be close to dusk. Huh? Close to nightfall and he had a full day of sleep without interruption. Fancy that. Knowing how pesky the slayer was, he wondered how many times he’d get to sleep all day before she barged into his crypt and disturbed his routine.

Spike sighed when he thought back to when he made the agreement with Angel to come back here and watch over Buffy. He must have been out of his mind from blood loss to consent to this assignment. Yep, that had to be it. Angel drained him and he was dizzy from the act and agreed all-too-readily to watch after his ex-tumble for him. How come Angel couldn’t do his stalking on his own like the rest of the undead?

Not that Buffy wasn’t stalker-worthy. She was! He had stalked her at the Bronze when they first met. Back then, when he saw her dancing with her friends, he didn’t know if he wanted to kill her or shag her to death. Then he spent a whole bloody year dealing with her, having her bugger all his best-laid plans. He couldn’t _wait_ to get out of Sunnydale after the Acathla thing was finished. Somehow in those months, she had worked herself into his system.

Then Drusilla had to go and break up with him, which led him to come _back_ to the same godforsaken town. Did he _have_ to be reminded just how much he hated Hellmouth towns? In his opinion, the damn thing should have been relocated to Los Angeles anyway. That whole damn city was overrun by the demonic and the socially disturbed.

Ironically, there was another Hellmouth in Cleveland, but when he and Drusilla first came to America, where did she want to go? Nowhere else, but where her daddy was. So they ended up here. After she had left him in South America, he returned to find not only Drusilla’s long-lost ‘daddy’ back, but he and the slayer had reprised their roles as Romeo and Juliet . . . again.

A person would think he learned his lesson, wouldn’t he? But no. He read a legend about the Gem of Amara, and just _had_ to come back to find the bloody thing. Angelus was always scolding him for his damn soddin’ curiosity. His Grandsire warned him that it would get him into trouble one of these centuries. Who knew the ponce would be right? Come here, search for and find the Gem only to lose it to said Grandsire and get stuck babysitting Juliet, because Romeo is off playing Batman.

Angel was getting him back. That had to be it. Captain Forehead was paying him back for being trapped with him in a German submarine in 1943. Bloody hell! How was he supposed to know that a Virgin Blood Party didn’t entail _actual_ virgins, or women for that matter?

Spike sighed. He wondered how many centuries it would take for Angel to forgive him for breaking his bloody moral streak by nearly eating the entire crew of that sub, with the help of two other vampires. First, he took care of Drusilla for a century with absolutely _no thanks_ from either Angel or Dru, and _now he’s babysitting little miss Stake-First-Ask-Questions-Later._ Angel really owed him for this.

Spike stood up and put his duster on, fishing around in the pockets for a pack of cigarettes and his trusty lighter. He had had the Zippo ever since the 1940’s when he and Drusilla toured war-ravaged Europe, _before_ he was captured at the Free Virgin Blood Party. There was a Demon Research Initiative gathering vampires for their Füehrer then, and it seemed like they were now in America. He didn’t know where they were housed in Sunnydale. Now, not only did he have to look after the Slayer, but watch his own back, as always. The thought made him grind his teeth in frustration as he left his crypt through the sewers. He had to go look for furnishings if he was staying here. Oh, the fun that Angel was missing by saving damsels in L.A.

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel’s Office_ **

Angel sat at his desk with his feet propped up on the corner reading a book. He had to do something to get Spike off his mind. It was no use. He didn’t even remember what he was reading; all he saw were images of Spike with his natural honey-blonde locks. He sighed and tried to refocus on the book in front of him. The bleached blonde was going to be the death of him someday.

Staring blindly at the book on his lap was how Doyle found him when he walked in. The Brachen demon started pacing impatiently when he received no reaction from Angel.

“So, that’s it, then? That’s your exciting plan for this evening?” Doyle asked, waving his hand at the object on Angel’s lap, “A book?”

Angel smirked at Doyle. “I get enough excitement,” he said before returning to the pages he was mindlessly staring at.

“Yeah,” Doyle agreed, “of the evil-fighting variety, but how about a little off-duty fun?”

“Such as . . .?” Angel asked not even looking up from his book.

Doyle pushed Angel’s feet off the desk and sat down on the edge. When the vampire looked up at him in annoyance, Doyle ignored him and said, “Two beautiful words – Sports Bar!”

Angel gave him a look that clearly said, ‘you can’t be serious’, before he turned his chair around to put his feet back up on the opposite corner of the desk and resumed reading his book, ignoring the Brachen demon.

Doyle let out a petulant sigh. “Come on, Angel! You know, they have trivia games on the Internet now? You can challenge against drunks around the world. Anything, please! I just can’t sit around here while . . .”

Doyle’s tirade had trailed off and Angel looked up in surprise to see what had stopped him from going on about how great the L.A. nightlife was. He looked up just in time to see Cordelia walking into the office wearing a stunning black strapless sheath of a dress.

“While . . . I steal into the night with my incredibly-more-wealthy-than-you prince? Makes your little life seem a tad drab, doesn’t it?” Cordelia quipped.

The two men stood up and looked at Cordelia mystified.

“Yeah,” Doyle said slowly as he eyed Cordelia in that outfit. “Just because he has money, doesn’t mean that he can make you happy, princess.”

Cordelia smirked at Doyle. “I’ll have you know that Pierce has a lot more than money. He has a house in Montecito, he has a Mercedes CLK 320 and a place in the hills with a lap pool,” she said.

“Well, since you put it that way,” Doyle said cockily.

A knock sounded on the door in the outer office. Cordelia turned around to answer it. “Well, if I’m not here in the morning, you can just clear out my desk. I’ll be moving on up,” she cheerfully threw over her shoulder as she walked away from her co-workers.

Pierce entered the outer office, just as Cordelia was walking out of Angel’s inner office. Her dress stopped him in his tracks.

“Wow. You look amazing,” he said, taking in her attire.

Cordelia rewarded the man with a brilliant smile. “Do I?” she asked coyly, sneaking a glance back toward Angel’s office. _They never said one word about how I looked. Nice to know there is at least one decent man in this world who can appreciate all the effort I put into looking this good._ She had the feeling that her two co-workers would bungle her already perfect date by talking to him, so she rushed up to him and said, “Let’s go.”

Angel stepped out of his office just in time to catch Cordelia making a quick exit. “What’s your hurry? You didn’t even introduce us,” he said in mock hurt.

Cordelia put on a strained smile and turned around to face her co-workers, pointing to each in turn. “Angel, Doyle, Pierce,” she said hastily grabbing Pierce’s arm. “Bye!” _I have to get out of here before Angel completely ruins my date!_

Angel spoke up just as they were trying to leave. “You work, Pierce?”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. _He’s going to ruin my chances. I just know he is. It’s what he does. I find this really great guy and they both have to chime in and ruin a perfectly good date!_

Pierce turned to face Angel. “I trade – futures and options market,” he announced proudly.

Angel nodded. “Good. Good. So where are you going to dinner?”

Cordelia’s brows shot up. _Who did he think he was? My father?_

“Le Petite Renard,” Pierce told him, smiling at Cordelia.

Doyle knew of the place, “Ah, right. Nice spot,” he said, turning back to Angel, “Duck is dry.”

Angel turned back to Cordelia. “So, how late will you be?”

Cordelia’s jaw dropped a bit. _Was he serious?_ “Don’t wait up,” she said as she led Pierce out of the office. “Don’t mind him,” she told her date before slamming the door on her way out.

Angel retreated to his back office with Doyle in tow. He closed the door behind Doyle and returned to his seat behind the desk and the book he had been _trying_ to read in hopes of keeping his mind off of Spike.

Doyle sat on the couch and propped his arms on his lap. He looked thoughtfully at the closed door and then back at Angel who had returned to his previous occupation. “She’s not going to fall for my ample but unpretentious charms, is she?”

Angel gave up trying to read. Closing the book, he looked up at Doyle who was looking through his books. “Unless unpretentious means you don’t like to brag about your family’s old money.”

Doyle chose a book and flipped through the old pages. “Hey, the only money in my family is underneath the couch cushions. Not to mention the fact that half of them are demons. I’m sure if Cordy found out about that my chances would be worse than zero.”

The Brachen demon was stopped short when a picture of Buffy fell from between the pages of the book. He closed the book and reached down to retrieve the picture. “Wow,” he said with a low whistle. “She is something. Is this an old squeeze of yours?”

Angel looked up to see Doyle holding the image of his precious slayer. Just the thought of her brought a painful ache to his dead heart. The knowledge that she had moved on made the pain unbearable. It was the reason he had sent Spike back to Sunnydale to look after her. Spike was his link to what he could no longer have. In a way, he supposed doing that was a way to torture himself but he couldn’t completely abandon her. She was the first female that ever meant anything to him in nearly two centuries.

“Yeah.”

Doyle barely heard his boss answer, still admiring the girl in the picture. “Well, how does she feel about a man with an Irish accent?” he asked teasing Angel. His smile vanished when he looked over and saw the vampire’s shuttered features. “Buffy.”

Angel put the book down and folded his arms over his chest, more trying to relieve the painful pressure than anything. He swallowed the lump in his throat before answering, “Yeah.”

“I’m – I’m sorry . . .” Doyle tried to apologize when a vision hit him. He fell back onto the sofa in pain, cradling his throbbing head in his hands. Angel bolted out of his chair to help him. He sat beside Doyle and waited for the bulk of vision shudders racking the Brachen’s body.

“There is a young guy,” Doyle told Angel in a shaky voice.

“Where?” Angel asked anxiously.

“Vampires have a nest downtown,” Doyle said, looking at Angel, trying to refocus his eyesight from the blinding pain the visions left. “Poor kid’s gonna be the entrée.”

“Let’s go, then,” Angel said pulling him off the sofa. This job should be able to take his mind off Spike for a little while.

“Everybody’s got dinner plans but us,” Doyle said absently as he followed Angel out of the office.

**************************

**_Sunnydale, UC Sunnydale Campus_ **

Spike snuck into the administrator’s office through the sewers and basement of the building. He quietly moved closer to a desk and sat down in front of the computer. Turning it on, he sat back and waited for the machine to boot up. Like Angel, he adapted with the times and the technology over the century. A vampire either adapted or he was dust. He had witnessed the age of the computer, even had stock in IBM and Microsoft since the 1980’s.

When the screen came up to the command prompt, he searched the computer files for an enrollment list. Finding that, he scrolled down the list of student names and their respective dorm housing assignments. When he reached Buffy’s name, he grinned.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he whispered to himself. He took note of the dormitory and room number she was in and grabbed a printed map that lay on the desk before he shut the computer down and left the same way he arrived.

In the dorm room she shared with Buffy, Willow was still moping over Oz leaving her. She had refused the company of her friends in lieu of the company of sad music and her own thoughts. Oz had been her world since she was a junior in high school. How was she supposed to go on with her life now that he was gone? A knock on the door brought her out of her reverie.

“Come in,” Willow called out.

When Spike walked through the door, Willow was immediately startled and shot up off the bed. “Spike! Wh-what do you want? Uh, a spell? I can do another love spell for you.”

Willow moved to run past him, but he grabbed her shoulders and blocked her escape.

“Willow, ironically, I’m not here to hurt you and I don’t want a spell,” Spike said trying to break through her small hysteria. Angel should have called ahead or something and told Giles what he was there for. But then, what would be the fun in that if they all knew, right? No, Angel had to make his job harder by keeping _everyone_ in the dark. There was so much of Angelus in Angel that his Sire either refused to acknowledge or acted on an unconscious level that it would probably make Angel brood even more when he realized it.

“So what do you want then?” Willow asked puzzled.

Spike released Willow and walked over to sit on the end of her bed. He fished around in his coat pockets for his cigarettes and lighter. “Mind if I smoke in here?”

Willow’s brows shot up. _Spike asked me if I cared if he smoked in here._ Since when did Spike care what other people thought? Wasn’t he the vampire that did what he pleased regardless? Here was William the Bloody sitting on _her_ bed, asking what she thought before he did something. Oz didn’t do that before he left. He just decided what was best for both of them and took off without a word.

“Uh, Red?” Spike asked when he didn’t receive an answer. “Do you mind if I smoke in here or not?”

Willow was pulled out of her thoughts when he asked the question again. “I don’t mind, but Buffy might. How would I explain the smell of smoke in the room when she gets back?”

“Oh right,” Spike nodded in agreement. “My bad,” he said as he put the lighter and cigarettes back in his pocket.

**************************

**_Outside Willow’s Dorm_ **

Graham, Forrest and Riley were hiding in the bushes, staring at a temperature sensor. They had been hunting hostile sub-terrestrials, or HST’s, all night. They ran into Buffy earlier. That hadn’t been fun for Riley. Having to explain why he was out about at midnight wasn’t his idea of a way to get closer to her.

“I’m getting an image . . . signature’s locked,” Graham reported.

Riley looked down at the sensor screen. “What have we got?”

“Humans of the freshman variety,” Graham reported. “98.6, 98.6 . . . Bingo! We’ve got a cold one.”

“Thermal output clocking in at exactly . . . room temperature. Vampire. Call in a standard triangle flanking maneuver,” Forrest ordered.

“We’re going in,” Riley said, picking up his walkie-talkie. “I need a lockdown on grid 6, over?”

**************************

**_Inside Willow’s Dorm_ **

“I’m 126, not a fledgling anymore. So there I was in the ponce’s apartment waiting to confront him, and he comes swaggering down there and pulls the Sire whammy on me. Next thing I know, I’m agreeing to watch after the bloody Slayer for him like some soddin’ mindless minion,” Spike sighed.

Just then, the lights went out and the emergency lights kicked on. Riley, Graham and Forrest ran into the dormitory wearing night vision goggles. They raced up the stairs and when they arrived at the second floor landing, students scrambled out of their way. The small team carefully slunk down the hallway until they reached Willow’s room. On a silent count of three, they bust the door down and Willow stood by her bed, half-scared of the intruders in full riot gear. She was even more terrified when one of the men pointed a tranquilizer gun at her.

“No, hold your fire!” Riley’s order came out in a mumble due to the facemask he was wearing, effectively disguising his voice.

Spike chose that moment to rush the men that were blocking his exit. He slammed Graham into a wall. He then turned around to see Willow cowering in a corner of her room. He gave her a sincere and apologetic look before disappearing around the corner and down the hallway.

Two of the men caught up to Spike and grabbed him. He struggled to break free, but was eventually contained.

“Bag it and tag it. We’re gone,” Forrest ordered. He looked over at Riley, “Sir, the civilian, she could have been turned.”

“Leave her,” Riley said.

“But, sir, we can’t neglect quarantine!” Forrest objected.

“I said --”

Riley started to dress down his comrade when Spike broke free. Grabbing a fire extinguisher off the wall, he rammed it into Graham. Forrest went to shoot the blonde vampire, but the shot was blocked when Spike held the canister up in defense. Soon the whole hall was filled with CO2 gas. Under cover of the fog, Willow tried to crawl away from the commandos.

Forrest saw her through the haze. “Stop her!”

An unknown commando grabbed Willow and held her prisoner against him. “She’s contained.”

“Contain this!” Buffy growled furiously.

The commando who was holding Willow snapped around and was blinded, as his night vision goggles were overloaded when Buffy shot off a flare gun. The flare bounced around the hall.

“Aah! Ow! I think I’m blind! What the hell was that?” were the various exclamations in the hall as students and soldiers struggled to escape the flare’s movement.

With the flare lighting up the hallway in an emergency red color, the commandos tore their goggles off. Buffy used the distraction to help Willow.

“Back into the room, Will. Cast a warding spell quick!” Buffy said ushering her best friend into the room then quickly grabbing the door and pulling it back into place.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief to collect herself now that her friend was unharmed. She turned and started to fight the commandos, pummeling their riot gear-protected bodies to burn off some of her anger at the situation.

She didn’t take notice of the man she was fighting, because of his disguise and he didn’t recognize her due to the immediate blindness brought on by the flare. The combination, all in all, made it a fair, no holds barred fight. Riley grabbed Buffy and slammed her into a wall. Spike saw his chance to escape and took it knowing Buffy could hold her own against the guy she was fighting. Besides he didn’t think she’d appreciate his help in the least.

Buffy picked herself up off the floor just in time to dodge a kick and then a punch. She reciprocated and landed a punch. Cornering the man, she landed a few dozen punches in succession on his stomach. Riley shook his head to try and clear it and returned with a punch to the face effectively sending her back away from him.

Spike ran down the hall and nearly made it to the window before a commando stopped his progress. Grabbing the man by his fatigues he jerked the guy toward him, and, using all his strength pushed the guy through the window breaking the glass. He pulled the commando back into the building and slammed his fist into the guy’s face, effectively knocking him out. Spike looked around to see Buffy holding her own against a commando before he jumped out the window himself.

Buffy was so busy concentrating on her current opponent she hadn’t noticed that Spike was even there let alone that he had left her to fight by herself. Riley threw her against a wall. She rose to her feet, grabbed a folding chair nearby and slammed him in the face with it before following it with a roundhouse kick, flipping him over onto the floor. Riley got to his knees and shook his head to clear it of the dizziness he felt from the assault Buffy delivered. When it was clear enough to think straight, he realized she was stronger than a normal girl. Something was wrong here.

“Abort!” Riley yelled the order as he stood up. He stared at Buffy through the mask as if she were something foreign while he backed out of the hall with his men.

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel’s Office_ **

The moment the three co-workers stepped into the office, Doyle shut himself in Cordelia’s office for a little privacy to try and process the last couple of days. The Brachen demon was nearly made into mincemeat by his ex-wife’s now-ex-fiancé’s family. He had talked to her a little after the whole ordeal and now not only were they no longer married and able to use that to turn to each other in comfort they each had their own demons to deal with, figuratively speaking.

After a little drunken Internet trivia, he stood up, turned the computer screen off and lay down on the sofa. Angel and Cordelia watched his movement from the louvered windows of Angel’s office.

“So, he spoke to her?” Cordelia asked still watching Doyle.

“Yeah,” Angel said solemnly. He had heard Doyle’s end of the conversation and he felt bad for the half-demon. Now that they were really divorced, Harry had asked for some time for herself so that she could reorganize her life.

“Didn’t go too well, huh?” Cordelia asked. She never knew Doyle had so many depths before tonight. She had just thought he was another leeching man like Xander Harris.

“I think she just needs some time,” Angel replied.

“He’s still really hung up on her, isn’t he?” Cordelia asked.

“Hmm – more than he knew, probably, yeah.” Angel said as he watched Doyle get settled.

Cordelia turned to look at Angel. “Well, someone _has_ to go out there and cheer him up,” she said gesturing toward the office window.

Angel looked over at Cordelia for a moment. Feeling it may be his duty as a man, he finally stood up to go talk to Doyle when Cordelia held up her hand to stop him.

“Oh please! Someone with a heartbeat,” she told him sardonically.

Angel followed her to the doorway between the offices and leaned against the jamb as she went to talk to Doyle. Cordelia sat down next to Doyle and put on a brilliant smile.

“Hi, Doyle,” she said cheerfully. “Are you going to become loser-pining guy, like, full-time now? Because, you know, we already have one of those around the office.”

“Hey!” Angel and Doyle echoed each other as they each gave Cordelia dirty looks.

“Well,” Cordelia said in an exasperated tone, “he can get away with it. He’s tall and – and just look at the way clothes hang on him,” she pointed out and then turned back to Doyle, “but you . . .”

“Okay, I think you’ve cheered us up enough,” Angel said, waving her off.

Cordelia rolled her eyes at Angel and then turned back to Doyle. “You can’t live in the past. You got to move on. Let it go. Forget it. Tomorrow is another day.” She moved away so Doyle could sit up. “Did I mention letting it go?”

“Twice,” he assured her as he sat back.

Cordelia sat next to him and sighed, “You’ll get through this, Doyle. Nice guys don’t always finish last.”

Doyle looked at her strangely. “You think I’m a nice guy?”

Cordelia gave him a chastising look. “I think it, I say it. That’s my way.”

“Thanks,” Doyle said actually feeling better.

“Feeling better?” Cordelia asked concerned.

“Yeah, actually I do,” Doyle replied.

“Yeah?” Cordelia smiled and mentally patted herself on the back for her accomplishment.

Suddenly Doyle doubled over with pain. He held his head to cushion the pain zinging through it. Cordelia jumped off the sofa in shocked surprise. She looked over at Angel not knowing what to do and pointed at Doyle.

“That was not my fault,” she said adamantly.

“He’s having a vision,” Angel told her as he pushed away from the doorway and moved to get Doyle a stiff drink and some aspirin. He stood beside Doyle waiting for the vision to pass.

“At this hour?” Cordelia scoffed.

Doyle looked up at Angel. “Oh,” he groaned taking the glass from his boss.

“What?” Angel inquired. “What did you see?”

Doyle looked at Angel trying to refocus his eyesight and inhaled a huge gulp of air.

**************************

**_Sunnydale, UC Sunnydale Campus_ **

A student walked through the trees on the campus. He paused when he heard a branch crack nearby. After a moment he resumed walking. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned around and came face to face with Buffy.

“Looking for me?” Buffy asked with a smile.

“Holy – what do you want?” the man asked surprised.

Buffy punched him in the nose. The pain startled him a bit before his facial features shifted.

“Uhh! Hey!” the vampire cried indignantly.

“Well, well . . . look who’s home?” Buffy quipped.

“A slayer!” the vampire spat. “Why don’t you just go back where you came from? Things were great before you showed up.”

Buffy shrugged and then punched him again. She kicked his leg out from under him, dropping him to the ground. He rose to his knees and punched her in the stomach with a backhanded fist. She retaliated with a backhanded punch to the face and knocked him to the ground again. As he struggled to rise again, she grabbed him from behind and staked him.

“And they say one person can’t make a difference,” she told him just as he exploded into dust.

Angel watched the fight from his cover of foliage. When she walked past him to her dorm room, he shrank back into the shadows. It still hurt his undead heart to see her. Every time he was near her, his whole chest felt like it was being pressed. It didn’t help that he had chosen to leave her for both their sakes. He still felt it was the right decision, leaving her after her graduation and a year of torturing themselves with a love that could never again be consummated, lest it bring forth sorrow and pain in the form of Angelus.

Angel sighed to relieve the pressure. He slunk further into the shadows and scented the air. Spike didn’t say where he was staying in Sunnydale, but he’d find his childe soon enough. He wondered if the blonde was rehashing old memories, or if he was the only one of the two that was being tortured by images of things that happened two lifetimes ago.

Blindly walking through the Sunnydale cemeteries, Angel subconsciously followed his childe’s scent to Restfield cemetery. It was the same cemetery that he and Buffy frequented on their many patrols in the past. It was also close to the residential district but not close enough that the houses disturbed the peaceful looking grounds.

Spike’s scent swarmed around one particular crypt at the back of the cemetery. Just as Angel stepped up to the door, the panel swung open and Spike stared at his Sire in shock. The older vampire just stood there and stared back, taking in his childe’s tall, lean form.

“Are you going to let me in, Spike?” Angel asked softly.

Spike stared a few moments more before Angel’s question sank in. The blonde nodded and stepped aside, letting his elder enter the crypt. His Sire was here in Sunnydale? Why would Angel be here where he could torture himself being so close to Buffy?

“What brings you to Sunnyhell, Angel?” Spike asked as he went to the fridge to retrieve some blood.

“Doyle had a vision that Buffy was in trouble,” Angel answered quietly.

His eyes traveled around the crypt, taking in his childe’s sparse living conditions. It was an empty chamber housing only the essentials that would be of importance to Spike: TV, chair, microwave, and refrigerator. Angel wondered if the younger vampire missed the lavish lifestyle they both had once lived as two-fourths of the Scourge of Europe. Angel moved to and leaned against one of the three sarcophaguses in the room. Images from his dreams crept into his mind as he watched Spike move deftly around the crypt.

“Do you ever miss it?” Angel asked in a louder voice than he’d used thus far.

“Miss what, mate?” Spike asked as he heated two mugs of blood.

“The way we used to live,” Angel clarified as his eyes skimmed the crypt one more time. “Do you ever miss it?”

“Sometimes,” Spike replied as he watched the turntable move through the window of the microwave. “I don’t miss the mobs that hunted us or the noble people’s behavior. But other things, like the thrill of the hunt through the night, the rush of pleasure in a good kill. That first taste of blood from the first meal.” _I miss your company, Angelus. I miss the connection we shared._

The answer didn’t surprise Angel in the least. After all, he had cultivated those same responses in Spike. He had taught his childe to enjoy everything to its fullest extent; to want, to take, to have with no regrets in doing so.

Slayers are taught that the demon commits atrocities with no remorse because it has no conscience. That’s a lie. It’s a lie every slayer has to believe to execute their sacred duty. In some respects, it is the truth with fledgling vampires and minions who are either like newborn babies, too young to understand what they do until they are taught by their Sires to do otherwise. Minions are just lackeys or servants, never trained for anything else.

Childer, though; childer are made by master vampires out of obsession or a need to possess. They are taught to care about how they acclimate to the world around them. Okay, so Penn was a disaster, Angel could admit that now. No good was accomplished when he decided to turn Penn. Lawson was a necessity, a means to an end. Once he had turned the young officer to get the German submarine fixed, he had kicked the man off the sub along with Spike. Drusilla was his greatest obsession and his greatest sin ever committed. Then there was Spike.

Spike was Drusilla’s childe by right. He was her companion for a century. Angel knew the younger vampire cared for his insane girl, loved her, and took care of her. He gave props to the man for staying by her side for so long. Drusilla had never really used her power as Sire over Spike. She wasn’t sensible enough for it. Angel knew the moment he met Spike that she would have never disciplined the boy, that’s why Angel had taken over her Sire-Claim.

Watching Spike now as the blonde handed him a mug of warmed blood Angel was glad he had. Who knows what shape Spike would be in today if he had let Drusilla keep the claim she had. But then again, maybe it was a good thing that Dru, as insane as she was, turned Spike first and not Angelus. Spike had a level head on his shoulders; he held his own and could take care of himself.

“Why so quiet, Peaches?” Spike asked, quirking a scarred brow.

“Just been reflecting on the past lately,” Angel replied before taking a drink.

“Same here,” Spike admitted, but then, not wanting to dwell on it, he changed the subject. “What dire vision brings you back to good ol’ Sunnyhell?”

Angel ignored the question and asked, “Is there anything new or strange going on in Sunnydale?”

Spike lit a cigarette and regarded him for a moment before answering. “The Initiative. They’re around town somewhere.”

“The Initiative? What is that?” Angel watched him.

“College kids pretending to be commandos or vice versa. Remember that submarine you found me on during the War? It’s the Americanized version of that Demon Research Initiative the Third Reich was using to gather vampires and use them for their Füehrer's cause,” Spike explained.

“Oh, wonderful. Just what this country needs: a bunch of kids playing army and hunting us down.” Angel was less than thrilled. “Look, Spike. I need a place to sleep for the day, are you going to be accommodating?”

Spike gave an exasperated sigh. Just because he was dreaming about his Sire, didn’t mean he had to be best pals with the ponce. He ground his teeth as he thought of the possible scenarios that could happen if he told Angel to go find a new hideout. Finally with another sigh of resignation, he answered, “Yeah, there’s a king-size bed downstairs. It oughta be big enough for your overgrown body.” He smirked when he received a scowl before leading the way to the lower level of his crypt.

Spike couldn’t believe he had just agreed to share a bed with his Sire again. Granted Angel didn’t demand it with consequences like Angelus would, but the steel edge in the dark vampire’s voice was present even after a century. What other choice did he have than to share the bed? At least that’s how Spike saw it in his mind. He was dreaming of Angelus and here the souled up version was requesting shelter. The renewal of the Sire-Claim was throwing his game off. That was it. Yeah … that was the reason.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 3: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 3)_

**_Site of a new UC Sunnydale Cultural Partnership Center_ **

The Dean of UC Sunnydale was standing on a podium making a speech to a small gathering of the town’s citizenry. As with all speeches he seemed to drone on.

“Of all the duties of a dean, one of the most pleasant is to see a colleague realize a dream. Ladies, gentlemen, students, I present to you – Professor Gerhardt of the Anthropology Department.” Dean Guerrero finally stepped down from the podium only to be replaced by a petite woman.

Professor Gerhardt looked out at the small crowd, watching reactions to her appearance before she began her speech. “When I first realized we were outgrowing our current cultural center, I was concerned. Then I realized it was like seeing one’s child grow and move on to better things. In this case, a spacious new facility to be built on this site . . .”

The Scooby gang had tuned the Professor out as Buffy, Willow and Anya lounged around a tree several feet from the crowd. Anya was staring at her boyfriend, Xander, who was there as a construction worker.

“Just look at him,” Anya told her companions as she continued to appreciate Xander’s body. “Have you ever seen anything so masculine?”

“You mean Guerrero or his wife?” Buffy asked teasingly.

“I think she means . . .” Willow waved in Xander’s direction. He was waiting to begin digging.

“Oh,” Buffy replied. “Very manly. Not at all Village People.” She looked over Xander’s attire: hardhat, tank top, jeans, and work-boots. _Yep, very Village People actually_. “So much sexier than the outfit from his last job.”

“Oh, but I miss the free hot dogs on sticks,” Willow chimed in with mock hurt.

“I’m imagining having sex with him right now,” Anya said out loud even though she meant to say it to herself.

The girls turned their attention back to the speech Professor Gerhardt was still droning over.

“. . . and that is why it is appropriate that the groundbreaking for the UC Sunnydale Cultural Partnership Center is taking place before Thanksgiving. For that is what the melting pot is about – contributions from all cultures, making our culture stronger . . . .”

Buffy started to clap but stopped when Willow interjected, appalled by what she just heard.

“What a load of horse hooey!” Willow spat.

Buffy looked at her strangely. “We have a counterpoint?”

“Yeah! Thanksgiving isn’t about the blending of two cultures. It’s about one culture wiping out another. Then they make animated specials about the part where, with the maize and the big, big belt buckles. They don’t show you the next scene, where all the bison die and Squanto takes a musket ball in the stomach,” Willow ranted.

“Okay,” Buffy trailed off. “Now, I’m assuming you were channeling your mother?”

“Well, yeah, sort of,” Willow said quietly. “That’s why she doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving or Columbus Day. You know the destruction of the indigenous peoples. I know it sounds a little overwrought, but really, she’s . . . . She’s right.”

“Yeah.” Buffy agreed. “I guess I never really thought about it that way. With Mom at Aunt Darlene’s this year, I’m not getting a Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s just as well.”

“Well, I think that’s a shame. I love a good ritual sacrifice,” Anya chimed in.

Buffy scrunched her nose up. “It’s not really one of those kinda things…”

Anya nodded. “To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It’s a ritual sacrifice with pie!”

Back at the podium, the Professor was finished with her speech and stepped off to commence with the groundbreaking ceremony.

Anya was incensed when she saw what the Professor was doing by shoveling a tiny bit of dirt and turning it over. “What’s she doing? Xander said he was going to dig! I want to see Xander dig, damn it!”

Buffy took a sip of her drink. “That part is just ceremonial,” she assured Anya.

Anya scoffed at that. “Well, it bites. She’s not rippling at all.” Just then she spotted Xander with a shovel. “Oh. Look, there he goes!” She sighed dreamily. “Look at him,” she said wistfully.

“Very . . . diggy,” Willow said in agreement.

“Soon he’ll be sweating. I’m imagining having sex with him again,” Anya said.

“Imaginary Xander is quite the machine,” Buffy quipped.

Xander was still digging when suddenly the ground caved in beneath him. He fell through to an underground chamber.

“Uhh! Ow,” Xander yelped as he crawled back to his feet. “I’m ok! I’m, uh . . . I’m ok!” Xander yelled up at the people gathered around the hole. He looked around the space. “Where am I okay?”

**************************

**_Outside Buffy and Willow’s Dorm_ **

Angel was in the shadows hiding behind a small copse of trees. He was staring up at Buffy’s window. He had followed her scent from the cemetery to this building. He saw her staring down in his direction from her room but she couldn’t see him in the shadows. For that he was grateful.

Sleeping in the same bed with Spike for the past twelve hours brought back a lot of memories, some painful, others erotic. He had come here for one thing: to help Buffy. But that was quickly turning into a second thing: reconnecting with Spike. Angel didn’t know why it seemed important to still maintain the link with his childe after all these years. It’s true they did everything they could in the past to hurt each other for selfish reasons. A part of him missed the closeness they had once shared. Though he didn’t want to think of the bad times, of which there were more than the good in the early years.

He was no longer Angelus, and Spike had become a master vampire in his own right during the years of his absence from the family since he was first cursed. What right did he have in asking Spike to take him back now? He didn’t want to order the younger vampire to heel to him as his unsouled counterpart would demand. He wanted Spike to be by his side willingly.

Ah, to be so close to his boy within touching distance after all this time? It was healing to his soul. Not true happiness, after what he had put Spike through as Angelus, it could never be that. But a part of him – the part that regretted how he had treated Spike in the early years as a fledgling and again in Sunnydale when he lost his soul to Buffy – being with Spike today was like a balm to his burdened soul.

Earlier he had laid there and watched Spike sleep. He was so beautiful, almost angelic in sleep. That’s one thing that had never changed over the years. His fingers had itched to reach out and touch the sharp cheekbones, the jaw line, the throat, and the chest that lay dormant of breath that was no longer needed to survive. Spike was still his beautiful boy.

If he really thought about it, Angel was here as much for him as he was for Buffy and Spike. With the Demon Research Initiative running around Sunnydale unchecked, he felt a need to watch after his childe. He had yet to discover what Buffy herself was in danger of. Angel hoped she would accept Spike’s help when needed even though the blonde was inherently evil now by all accounts and only had his Sire holding him back from acting on his destructive impulses toward her.

Spike wasn’t always evil though, even when he was turned. He still had a conscience. When Drusilla turned the boy, he had still retained his sense of self. It was he, Angel, as Angelus, who made him wicked. After 127 years with Darla, he had turned all the loathing and scorn his Sire had directed at him during his fledgling days on Spike.

Even though he had fallen for the boy the second Drusilla brought him home, he refused to acknowledge it. Darla had told him that a vampire’s life had no place for such things as love and affection, only need, lust and possession. The general lore was that demons had no souls and therefore could not feel such a thing as love. But, Drusilla loved her Sire and she loved Spike. Spike in turn loved them, even through all the cruel things Angelus did to prove otherwise. Now that he had a soul, Angel was afraid to even voice his feelings toward his childer.

Angel sighed and turned away from the dorm, heading back to Spike’s crypt. He stuck to the shadows wary of being outwardly seen by the kids in army gear. When did things get so complicated? He had roamed for a hundred years with no one to bother him. Now he had Spike constantly on his mind, he had Buffy to help and protect, he had Cordelia in L.A. constantly worried about his moods and demeanor, and now this Demon Research Initiative who were gunning for any demon no matter what side said demon was on.

**************************

**_Inside Buffy and Willow’s Dorm_ **

Willow rubbed lotion on her hands and arms as she readied herself for bed. She pulled the covers back and sat on the mattress. Buffy had been staring out the window for the longest time. The silence was becoming quite deafening.

“Oh hey. While they were pulling Xander out of that hole, I heard a couple of the anthro professors talking about what he had fallen into. Man, were they excited. It’s the old Sunnydale Mission, which everyone thought was lost,” Willow said excitedly.

“Huh?” Buffy said offhandedly. She was still staring out the window with only a half an ear to what her friend was telling her. She could have sworn she felt something, like a familiar presence. _His_ presence. She thought she could always tell when Angel was near. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. It had only been four months since he left her for L.A.

Willow looked at her friend quizzically. “Is there something out there?”

“Hmm? Oh. No. I’m sorry,” Buffy finally turned to Willow acknowledging her for the first time since they came back to their dorm tonight. “A lost mission. I mean a hairbrush I can understand. By the way, I will find that and get that back to you. But how do you lose a mission?”

“A huge earthquake in 1812. Everyone just assumed the mission was leveled. Instead, they built right over it. It’s like what happened in the thirties with that church the Master was in. Doesn’t it make you wonder what else is there, like, right under our feet?” Willow was overexcited by the prospect of an entire civilization hidden under the soil of the Hellmouth that didn’t include vampires and creepy-crawly things.

Buffy shrugged. “Mostly, I’ve just found sewers full of demons.” Buffy Summers always the pragmatist.

Willow pursed her lips. Her friend was never big on history. “Oh, right.” Outside their room students were running and yelling through the halls. “Man, it’s crazy out there.”

“Mm-hmm. Post midterm frenzy, and the holiday. Everyone’s going home,” Buffy said.

Willow got underneath her covers. “It looks like a lot of lucky moms are going to be getting brimming baskets of dirty laundry,” she said conspiratorially.

“It’s not fair,” Buffy pouted. “I mean, they all get a family holiday just because they can go home to their families.”

“Hmm, it’s a turvy-topsy world,” Willow agreed.

Buffy’s eyes lit up with an idea. “You know what? I should have my own Thanksgiving. I can cook the meal, just like my mom does, have all you guys over. It’ll be great!”

Willow scoffed. “Buffy, earlier you agreed with me about Thanksgiving. It’s a sham. It’s all about death.”

Buffy nodded. “It is a sham, but it’s a sham with yams. It’s a yam sham.”

Willow shook her head and gave Buffy a stern look. “You’re not going to jokey-rhyme your way out of this one.”

“I know . . .” Buffy whined. “But I want it. It’s like Professor Walsh was saying about sense memory. I smell a roasting turkey, and I’m eight years old. I liked having that to look forward to. Everything’s different now.”

“Well,” Willow said with a resigned sigh. “I suppose there could be slight yams.”

Buffy continued to stress her point. “I mean, we could definitely use a little comfort food. I bet Giles doesn’t have any plans, and Xander always tries to avoid all of his family gatherings.”

“Ooh. We could not invite Anya,” Willow said happily.

Buffy scrunched her face up at the suggestion. “I don’t know. She and Xander seem pretty tight lately.” She switched to an upbeat note. “Look, pilgrims and soon to be very dead Indians aside, isn’t that the whole point of Thanksgiving: everybody has a place to go?”

**************************

Spike had been walking around the woods near the cemetery that housed his crypt ever since he and Angel parted ways earlier that evening. The blonde chuckled to himself when he thought of how his Sire felt the need for self-flagellation when it came to Buffy. Even after all this time away from her, she could still manage to pull his strings. Tonight, she managed to pull him from the crypt all the way to her dormitory.

Today, he was lucky to have gotten any sleep at all with Angel so close to him, in the same bed no less. Having his Sire next to him while he slept was both soothing and disconcerting. Spike was no longer a fledgling vampire who needed to remain under his maker’s wing. But that part of him rejoiced in the knowledge that his Sire was there with him after being parted for a century. The other part, the Master Vampire part, scoffed at the very idea that Angel had turned up on his turf. How dare his elder show up and demand to be put up for the night after having abandoned him and Drusilla all those years ago?

Spike, shook his head to clear his thoughts and concentrate on the task at hand. He’d been dodging run-ins with a group of the militarized college kids all night. Yes, he was still the Big Bad, but that didn’t mean he was throwing himself out there to be caught by a tranquilizer dart. He quietly climbed a tree and watched their progress from above as they scouted the premises.

Below Spike’s perch, Riley, Graham and Forrest, dressed in commando gear, were patrolling the forest looking for human sub-terrestrials. They carefully and quietly stalked the grounds, eyes peeled for any movement around them, but never bothered to look up.

“Man, I’m beat,” Forrest announced to his friend and comrade, Riley Finn.

Riley nodded in acknowledgment. “We’ll do one more sweep, and then cash it in.”

“I gotta pack,” Forrest half-complained. “Do you got a flight?”

Riley nodded. “Wednesday night. Professor Walsh wants me here for the debriefing.”

“That’s a pretty short Thanksgiving,” Forrest stated.

“Hey, with hostiles on the loose, we’re lucky to be going home at all,” Riley pointed out.

Forrest coughed, “Mama’s boy.”

Riley looked at his friend skeptically. “That’s a nasty cough. You might need to spend the weekend in quarantine.”

“Oh, no,” Forrest said. “I’m done coughing.”

Riley smirked and patted Forrest’s arm. “I just don’t want anyone getting sick.”

When they left the vicinity, Spike jumped down from his perch in the tree and headed for the safety of his crypt. During his walk, his mind kept drifting back to Angel mentally noting the similarities and contrasts between his unsouled version and the current one.

Spike wondered if Angel was having the same type of dreams he had been having lately. He wondered if, hypothetically, he started their relationship again, would Angel be gentle with him or slip back to Angelus around him. He didn’t mind a little pain with his sex, but Angelus had taken it over to the extreme sometimes, and that Spike could do without.

On some level, it was comforting to be with his Sire again. Spike had slept more soundly than he had in years, erotic dreams plaguing him notwithstanding. He had given up thoughts of Angel after he had left when his elder was cursed. Of anyone, he had taken Angel leaving the family harder than Darla or Drusilla. Darla was too much of a bitch to react to her childe leaving. Drusilla was too insane to realize what had happened. Though, Spike didn’t discount her feelings, it was just that, with Drusilla, you never knew what she mourned most: the stars falling from the sky, Miss Edith not speaking to her or Angel never returning.

Spike shook the morose thoughts from his mind and refocused on his path. Before he even realized it, he was pushing his crypt door open and walking in to find Angel watching the door intently.

“Hullo, mate,” Spike said in greeting as he shut the door behind him.

“So what did you do tonight?” Angel asked as he watched Spike move around the room.

Spike walked over to the fridge, opening the door and pulling a couple of bags of blood out. He tore the packets open, pouring them into two cups before placing them in the microwave and turning it on. “Just been out, scouting the cemetery, checking out what those commando boys are up to. You?”

Angel shrugged. “Checked the town out.”

 _Sure you did, pet._ Spike knew where Angel went. He may have done exactly as he said, but Spike knew better. Angel was back in a town that literally screamed “Vampire Slayer Lives Here” and there was no way his Sire could keep from stalking her dorm even in the simple act of looking out for her.

“Tomorrow night we’ll go to Rupert’s and find out what’s going on and why Doyle had that vision. Because as far as I can tell, there are no outward sign other than the normal is going on here,” Angel explained.

The microwave dinged and Spike retrieved the cups, handing one to Angel. “Are you sure you want me going with you?” he asked as he took a swallow. “I mean, it’s not like I have a soul and I know I’m not a favorite of Buffy and her little Scooby gang,” Spike reminded him.

“No one is going to stake you, Spike,” Angel swore to him. “As long as you’re helping, well, me, at least, and live up to our agreement, no one will dust you.”

Spike looked at Angel skeptically. “And I’m supposed to believe that they won’t stake me because you say so?” He shook his head. “Have you forgotten that they are my enemy and I’m theirs? Have you forgotten that Buffy and I aren’t the best of pals and we can barely stand to be in the same room?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten,” Angel said. “But you are my childe and I will keep you in line, William. As for Buffy and the others, they’ll just have to deal with it.”

“What makes you so sure I’ll do anything you say?” Spike sneered.

Angel swallowed some of the blood. “You can’t tell me that the connection hasn’t become stronger since I renewed it. You can’t tell me you haven’t had the dreams. You’ll do what I say otherwise I’d pull rank on you and you know you don’t want to relive that.”

Spike heard the menace in Angel’s voice and knew what his Sire was talking about and that he meant what he said. Pulling rank was bad enough within the family. It would be humiliating in front of witnesses. Spike hung his head as if Angelus had commanded him to and quietly said, “Yes, Sire.”

The corners of Angel’s mouth curled up a bit. “It’s almost dawn, I think we should get some sleep, seems like it’ll be busy once we figure out what’s going on.”

**************************

**_Xander’s Basement Apartment_ **

Anya stomped down the stairs just as Xander was trying to get dressed. The anger in her eyes dissipated when she saw how worn out he looked.

“Xander, what are you doing?” she inquired in an irritated tone. “You’re supposed to be digging. I went to watch you dig and you weren’t there doing it!”

Xander sighed tiredly. “I’m going now, Ahn. Just . . . kinda tough getting going today,” he defended himself.

Anya stepped up to him and put her hand to his forehead as she supposed all concerned women did with their men. “Your head is moist.” She stepped back and crinkled her nose. “Oh. You’re sick. Well, so much for watching your muscles rippling while you dig. You can’t go to work,” she declared.

Anya pushed Xander back on the bed and proceeded to undress him. Xander was a bit surprised in his sickly haze. “Uh. Oh. Hey Anya?”

“You’re pasty and wet and disgusting. They can dig without you,” Anya went on ignoring him as she pulled his shirt off.

Xander groaned as his head pounded. _What was Anya doing here?_ “Look, I don’t really feel that bad,” he stressed.

Anya shook her head. “I inflicted a lot of putrefying diseases on men when I was a vengeance demon, and you look like you’re getting all of them.”

Xander absently nodded. It wasn’t so much of an acknowledgment as his stuffy head bobbing up and down. “Ok. I’ll stay. But you should go. You could catch it.” The words came out sluggishly.

Anya smiled perkily. “Great! We’ll die together. It’ll be romantic. Let me get your trousers off.” She climbed off the bed and grabbed for his waist.

“You’re a strange girlfriend,” Xander observed.

“I’m a girlfriend?” Anya was surprised. Xander never referred to her in any such terms before.

“Uh. There’s a chance I could be delirious,” Xander covered.

Anya looked hurt. “Oh, yes. Well, whatever it is that’s making you sick, so far, I like it.”

**************************

**_Giles’ Apartment_ **

Buffy and Willow had reported back to Giles after investigating the scene of the murdered woman at the museum. Buffy was busy running around Giles’ kitchen getting the food ready for her impromptu Thanksgiving feast. Giles was just trying to catch up with what she was telling him.

“I’ll tell you, Giles: it was pretty darn scary. It was more like a riot than a Ralph’s,” she explained. “I thought I was going to have to use slayer moves on this one woman who was completely hoarding the pumpkin pie filling!”

Giles rolled his eyes in exaggeration. “And at some point, you are going to tell me about the murder?”

Buffy looked confused for a second. “Oh, right. The knife was some sort of Indian artifact. Chumash, I think. That’s all we got.”

Giles looked thoughtful. “Chumash Indians? They were indigenous to this whole area.”

“That’s interesting,” Buffy didn’t sound all that interested. She wasn’t even looking at him. She was more worried about her meal.

“Then, of course, the murder weapon might have just been a convenient choice,” Giles suggested.

“Nope. Why would it be when there was a big ol’ pair of scissors lying right there? That knife was picked for a reason.” Buffy looked around the small kitchen. “Do you even _own_ a turkey pan?”

Giles gave her a stern expression. “Tell me again why we’re not doing this at your house?”

Buffy looked at Giles in annoyance. “Giles, if you would like to get by in American society, then you are going to have to follow our traditions. You’re the patriarch. You have to host this thing, or it’s all meaningless!”

“And this is in no way an elaborate scheme to stick me with the cleanup?”

“Hey! How about that ceremonial knife, huh?” Buffy asked as a distraction. “Pretty juicy piece of clueage, don’t you think?”

“Yes, all right. I’ll look into the Chumash connection and see if there’s any ritual significance to the ear removal,” Giles conceded.

“Thank you,” Buffy said. She became quiet and listened. She could have sworn she felt something familiar close by but couldn’t place it. She felt it before in her dorm, as if something were watching her.

Giles looked concerned. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Uh . . . I still need to pick up a few things, so I’ll check in. And keep your hands off the food,” she warned on the way out the door.

“Oh, I’ll try and restrain myself from eating uncooked potatoes and cranberries,” Giles said sarcastically.

The second the door clicked shut, Angel walked out of a storage room in the back of the apartment with Spike in tow. They both wore grim expressions, for different reasons. Angel was reeling from being so close to Buffy and not being able to physically be near her. Spike, on the other hand, was upset from the waves of emotional pain coming from his Sire. All he wanted to do was comfort him. Damn, the bleedin’ claim renewal was playing havoc with his judgment. He should hate Angel for the century of abandonment; he shouldn’t want to comfort the ponce.

“So, what do you think?” Giles asked.

Angel walked around the small apartment while Spike stayed back and leaned against a wall. “She sounds good. Kind of intense about this Thanksgiving thing, though.”

“Well, Peaches, what do you expect from your girl? She always wanted to have a normal girly thing, can’t have a normal dating life; might as well try a normal holiday.” That earned Spike a glare from both Sire and watcher.

“I think perhaps she’s a little lonely, but I meant about the murder,” Giles said.

“Well, whatever killed the woman in the museum, that’s probably the danger,” Angel surmised.

“Yeah, well, this danger, your friend has some ominous vision about Buffy. It’s all terribly vague. I mean, there are other things happening on this campus,” Giles pointed out.

“Yeah, but then this is Sunnydale, strange occurrences are the norm here,” Spike said.

Angel shrugged. “Well, maybe I’m wrong, but I gotta try something. I can’t just keep watching.”

“But you’re so good at stalking, Peaches. It’s taken you a hundred or so years to perfect it, turned it into an art form you did,” Spike smirked.

Angel growled in warning at Spike.

“Why is _he_ here again?” Giles asked derisively.

“To watch over her when I’m not here,” Angel replied. “He’ll help keep her safe, fight alongside her.”

“Hey, what am I, a trained puppy? I don’t follow just anyone’s orders,” Spike said resentfully.

“Spike, we talked about this. You will stay here and watch over her for me, I need someone I know up here.” Angel was starting to lose patience.

“I kill slayers. I don’t baby sit them,” Spike mumbled.

“It’s been two years, Spike. After all that’s happened, do you really _want_ to kill her?” Angel asked.

“Well, it’s not like she has any bleedin’ love for me, either, Angel. We hate each other as it should be. That girl would just as soon stake me as the watcher here,” Spike said. “Why are you making me do this? Most of all, why am I letting you force me to do it?”

“Because, _William_ , I am your Sire. You will do what I tell you to do or I will tie you up and make you pay for every transgression you ever made against me in the last 120 years,” Angel threatened.

Giles cleared his throat; obviously uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going. He tried a more subtle approach. “Well, in any case, Angel, I’m glad you’re watching out for her. Though, I feel I should remind you that she’s not helpless and it’s neither your job, nor Spike’s, for that matter to keep her safe.”

Angel glanced over at him after having pinned his childe to the wall with a death glare. “It’s not yours anymore, either, Rupert. Are you going to walk away first, or shall we?”

“All right,” Giles conceded. “But I still feel we should tell her you are in town. I don’t like keeping this secret.”

“No,” Angel said adamantly. “If she knew I was here, it would distract her. It could get her hurt. I don’t want to get in the way.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, _Angel_ , but you’re already a distraction to her. You don’t think for a moment that the second you stepped foot in this town, she didn’t feel you. You marked her for fuck’s sake!” Spike pointed out which made Angel stare daggers at him.

“Um, I’m assuming that there’s some connection to the old mission. Something is upset about it being disturbed,” Giles said as a way to stop the escalating argument.

Angel turned back to Giles. “Or maybe it was trapped there, and now it’s been released. Something with a fondness for ancient weaponry.” Angel looked thoughtful for a moment before asking Giles, “Do you know Father Gabriel?”

“No.” Giles shook his head.

Angel shrugged. “He knows the history of this place pretty well. His family dates back to mission times. He may be able to fill in some blanks. Come on, Spike.”

“Ok. Well, I’ll see about contacting him,” Giles started to say.

“Don’t worry, I’ll send Spike over there,” Angel said as he turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Giles asked curiously.

Angel didn’t turn back to look at the watcher. “To watch her,” he said quietly.

Giles sighed. “It’s not fair, Angel. You know that’s what she’d say. You can see her, but she can’t see you?”

Angel turned and glared at Giles. “Believe me; I’m not getting the good half of this deal. I’m on the outside looking in at what I can’t . . . God, I’d forgotten how bad this feels.”

Spike seriously didn’t know what to think. He knew his Sire loved the Slayer and some part of him, the part that missed the old Angelus, not the one that was in Sunnydale two years ago, but before that, before he had gotten a soul, the demon in him found it sickening that his Sire had fallen for a killer of their kind. However, the William in him could empathize with Angel.

Spike, the mixture of demon and human, the one that Angel renewed the Sire claim on, was nearly forest-green with jealousy and pain that the Slayer still garnered so much adoration from his Sire. The claim between them was strong, but not as strong as it had once been when Angelus had taken over his care. Spike was once Angelus’ favored childe. The renewed claim was bringing back melancholy memories that warmed William but chafed Spike. He didn’t know whether to fall at Angel’s feet and beg him back or punch his lights out. Either way, he followed the older vampire out of the watcher’s apartment.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 4: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 4)_

Willow and Buffy were walking through the business district of Sunnydale, arguing between themselves over the merits of instant dessert versus homemade while Angel and Spike were following some distance behind them. They were not close enough to be detected by Buffy’s slayer senses, but enough to hear the girls’ chatter.

“But you have whipped cream,” Willow whined. “I saw it in Giles’ fridge.” When she agreed with Buffy to go ahead and have Thanksgiving dinner, she had not counted on actually _making_ everything from scratch. What the hell was Buffy thinking anyway?

“But that’s whipped cream in a canister. It’s only right if you whip it yourself,” Buffy told her friend. She wanted an old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner and she was going to get it, damn it!

Willow’s face lit up. “Hey, and then later, we can churn our own butter and make sweaters out of sheep,” she said sarcastically, hopefully driving home the point of how ridiculous Buffy was being about this dinner.

“Okay. It’s the last thing. I promise. Besides, I have to get back and check on the other stuff that I left cooking at Giles’. I hope he hasn’t tried to taste-test anything,” Buffy conceded.

The two vampires looked at each other as they listened to Buffy drone on about her dinner plans. The girl was really serious about having everything homemade, right down to the cobbler. Here it was the twentieth century and Buffy’s talking about things women had to do because there wasn’t a luxury such as microwave ovens back then.

Spike snickered to himself. “She’s bloody well serious about this, mate.”

“It would seem so,” Angel agreed, tilting his head and looking at his ex-girlfriend.

When a boy stepped up to the two girls, Angel grabbed Spike’s arm halting the blonde beside him. “Who’s that?” Angel inquired.

“I don’t know,” Spike answered.

They hung back in the shadows and listened to the conversation for a moment. Angel had pushed Spike out of the street and into the shadows of a building. Spike was pressed back against the wall with Angel in front of him, standing a breath apart as their enhanced hearing picked up Buffy’s conversation.

The closeness of his Sire was wreaking havoc on Spike’s senses. Angel’s natural scent floated around him inflaming his arousal. He never thought his Sire could get him to react like that again after a century apart. Angel was facing away from him, watching the conversation and giving Spike a perfect profile view of his bone structure illuminated in the moonlight.

Spike’s ardor rose at the thought that after all this time, he was so close to his Sire that he could reach out and touch him. What the hell was he thinking, anyway? The friggin’ Sire-claim had him utterly confused. After a century of abandonment by his Sire, he should _not_ want to be even _remotely_ intimate with Angel at all.

Angel was fairing no better as he tried to concentrate on Buffy and Willow talking to the strange boy. He could smell the strong aroma of Spike’s arousal. It was teasing his demon senses. Angelus was growling inside him to properly reclaim his boy right here up against a brick wall as if a century hadn’t passed between them. It took all of his willpower to tamp down the urge to follow through and focus on what was going on.

Riley Finn, a teacher’s aide of the girls’ psych Professor, had caught up with them from out of nowhere. “Buffy? Hey.”

“Riley? Where’d you come from? I didn’t see you at all,” Buffy inquired looking around to see where he had been hiding.

“Oh, just across the street . . . and a couple of blocks down,” Riley said, throwing his thumb in a general direction. “Hey, Willow.” He smiled as he acknowledged the small redhead.

“Hi,” Willow greeted him with a small wave. “Well, I’m just going to let you two . . .” Willow trailed off as she turned to see a small diner. “Oh, look! They’re selling coffee in the coffee shop. Yum.”

Willow turned and practically abandoned Buffy to deal with Riley alone as she literally ran into the diner. In escaping the tense moment caused by Buffy and the TA, Willow wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and ran right smack into Angel. He grabbed her and Spike covered her mouth with his hand. She stared wide-eyed at both Spike and Angel together. _Spike and Angel? Together? That can’t be a good combination._ Then it dawned on her that she was trapped between the both of them.

“Oh my Goddess! Angel, Spike – evil! You’re all evil again!” Willow exclaimed, but with Spike’s hand over her mouth it came out garbled.

“We’re not evil. I’m here to help Buffy,” Angel assured her when she gave him a confused look. He released Willow and Spike dropped his hand from her mouth.

“It’s true, luv. He still has his soul,” Spike smirked at the redhead.

“What’s going on?” Willow asked, as she looked skeptical between the two of them. She had snuck into Giles office on more than one occasion and she had read the watcher’s diaries enough to know that when Angelus and William the Bloody were friendly with each other it was never for the good.

“A friend of mine had a vision that said Buffy’s in danger,” Angel told the witch.

At that moment Spike got an image of the Batman signal lighting up the sky and the dark avenger running to save the day. It made him chuckle which drew a puzzled glance from Willow and a frown from Angel. He shook his head and waved them off.

Willow turned her attention back to Angel. “So tell her about it . . . help her,” she said.

“If she sees me, it’ll be worse,” Angel said mournfully.

Both Willow and Spike rolled their eyes at Angel. Always the tortured soul was the man in front of them. He’d rather sit and brood heavily and skulk around instead of facing Buffy honestly and dealing with it. He left her a year ago, why did he have to make it so difficult for himself?

Willow shook her head bewildered. “See, I don’t get that. All this ‘leaving for her own good’ crap. Because that’s what it is. You can’t just give up because there are obstacles in the way. What kind of--”

“Don’t even bother trying to understand it, Red,” Spike interrupted her. “Angel likes to do things the hard way. He always did, even when he was evil.”

“Yeah, but--” Willow started to counter.

“Willow, Spike,” Angel interrupted them.

“Sorry. My stuff,” Willow pouted in apology.

“You know how I feel about her. If there was any way . . .” Angel started before Spike drew his attention again.

Spike tried coughing to hide the bursts of laughter bubbling up from his chest. He knew Angel was burdened by his soul, but to watch the whole thing play out like this? It was bloody priceless! If this was one of Angelus’ acts, it was Oscar-worthy. Too bad the ponce had a soul. He was genuinely broken up about the girl who was not only the killer of their kind, but the stupid bint had sent him to Hell _after_ Red had stuck a soul back into him. Spike gave the Slayer props for knowing her craft, but she sent his Sire into a hell dimension when all she needed to close the vortex was _some_ of his blood, not _all_ of it. Maybe that watcher of hers was lax in his duties to instruct her properly? Or maybe she was a little miffed with the whole trying to send the world into hell thing. Either way, it hadn’t needed to go down like that.

Angel glared pointedly at Spike before telling Willow, “It’s just . . . everything’s different now.”

Willow’s mind jumped topics when a thought struck her. “Hey, is Cordelia really working for you? ’Cause that’s got to be a special experience. Of all the people you could’ve hired?”

Angel’s brow furrowed. “Willow. I’m here to protect Buffy. I don’t have a whole lot of time for personal stuff.”

Spike cocked his head at his Sire. Was he serious or just playing to the witch? Because sharing a bed with Angel again seemed pretty personal to him. Just like Angel renewing the Sire-claim on him was intimately personal, and making him return to Sunnydale to watch over his ex-tumble even though he still showed up now to do the same thing, seemed personal to Spike. Angel pointedly ignored him as he concentrated on the task at hand.

“Right. Well, how can I help?” Willow offered.

“I need you to get Spike invited to that Thanksgiving dinner. He can help out when or if the time comes,” Angel told her.

Spike was staring out the window of the diner watching Buffy talk to Riley with a half an ear to Angel’s conversation. “Red, luv, who’s that guy?”

Willow followed Spike’s line of vision. “Oh. That’s Riley Finn. He’s one of the TA’s at the college. Psychology 101.”

She watched the reaction of both vampires as their eyes flickered between their natural color and that of the demon. For some reason, Riley hadn’t set well with them. A notion that was established when she heard twin low growls.

Angel and Spike thanked Willow and turned on their heels and walked away, their long coats swelling around them as they sauntered out of the diner. They kept to the shadows until they got to a cross street.

“So what’s the plan?” Spike asked his Sire as he used his keen eyesight to scan the vicinity.

“I’m going to the museum to have a look around. See if I can find any clues. I need you to go see Father Gabriel and find out if he knows anything useful about the Chumash tribe,” Angel instructed. He turned to leave, but then retraced his steps back to stand in front of Spike again, just barely touching. “And Spike, get information out of him, not blood.”

“Oh, come on. You’re ruining the whole ‘torture the victim for information’ plot I was thinking of, Peaches,” Spike pouted.

Had he not seen the smirk that went with that statement, Angel would have thought Spike was serious. The last thing he needed was to have unchecked progeny roaming the streets, helping to increase the body count with those commando college boys patrolling the area.

Angel cocked his head as he watched his childe. “Spike, for once, could you not argue with me?” A person would think that after a century he’d learn to follow something else besides Drusilla’s skirts.

“Fine. But I never was much for history. I was a lawyer when I was human not a historian,” Spike reminded Angel, “and I did not sign on to be an errand boy.”

“No, you didn’t. I _ordered_ you to watch out for Buffy and this is part of that job,” Angel told him.

“Well, where are we meeting then?” Spike asked with a resigned sigh.

“Go to Giles’ place when you’re done, I’ll meet up with you there,” Angel instructed.

The two vampires parted ways. Spike had to get away from Angel, for a little while at least. His head was telling him to forget the whole notion of starting anything with the older vampire. His body was saying an entirely different thing. The demon’s physical need to be with family was strong and having his Sire here and accessible was driving him completely insane. He could see how Angelus had driven Drusilla mad. He taunted her with unimaginable possibilities, well that and killing everyone around her causing her to run for a convent.

Before he realized it, Spike was in front of the monastery. He wondered as he entered the building if he’d burn up. Yes, he performed the Eligor ritual in a church, but hadn’t stepped foot on holy ground since then. He figured after that some higher power would see fit to dust him. He shook his head. What were those Anne Rice novels talking about anyway? Vampires rose out of cemeteries, why would the inside of a church be any worse?

“Father Gabriel?” Spike called out as he walked up the aisle between the pews. He watched everything to find any sign of the priest or notice anything out of place. He stopped at a set of double doors that looked out onto a sandstone courtyard. Passing through the doors, he called out again. “Father Gabriel, are you out here?”

When Spike cleared a stone pillar next to the house he spotted an Indian in the process of slicing the throat of a priest that he’d hung. “Bloody hell!”

Spike rushed the rest of the way to the macabre sight. He grabbed the Indian by the back of the head and jerked him back away from the prone body before he punched him. At that moment, Buffy was there. She grabbed the Indian’s arm and jerked him with all her strength, sending him flying a few feet away into a brick wall. The man rose to a defensive crouch, in a fighting stance.

“You can’t stop me,” the Indian threatened his attackers.

“You’re very wrong about that,” Buffy countered.

The Indian rushed at Buffy again, but she sidestepped him and he went forward headlong into Spike’s fist. The blow sent him a few feet back. He rose to his feet and tried to slice at Buffy with his knife. She dodged back again. He tried to punch her and she dodged, causing him to hit an ornamental stand.

The Indian and Buffy fell together and rolled around to achieve the most dominant position. Spike sidestepped out of the way of Buffy and the wielded knife. Just because he agreed to watch after the bloody Slayer, didn’t mean he was there to fight her battles for her. All he agreed to do for Angel was watch her back. He didn’t think that entailed fighting other baddies to protect the bint. She seemed to be holding her own as it was. Even with the Indian having the upper hand by holding her down at the moment.

“Yaugh! I am vengeance. I am my People’s cry. They call for Hus, for the avenging spirit to carve out justice,” Hus swore.

“They tell you to start an ear collection?” Buffy gibed.

She kicked up high, throwing the Indian off her. Rolling to her feet, she punched him and grabbed his arm, proceeding to slam the hand holding the knife into a tree but he wouldn’t let go of the weapon. The Indian punched her, but she swerved and kicked his legs out from under him. She grabbed his arm and twisted until he was stuck holding his knife to his own throat.

The Indian stared malevolently at Buffy. “You slaughtered my people. Now you kill their spirit. This is a good day for you,” he vowed.

Buffy shoved him away from her. He stood up and hugged himself before shape shifting into a colony of bats that flew away.

Buffy stared in surprise at the vacant space for a bit before turning to Spike. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was having myself a spot of violence before you showed up and stole my thunder, Slayer,” he said.

Buffy stared at him skeptically before walking back the way she came. Spike scoffed at her disbelieving look and followed her at a long distance, shaking his head the whole time. He didn’t know if he could hold up his end of the deal with the way things were going between him and the Slayer. Angel really owed him for this.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 5: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 5)_

**_Giles’ Apartment_ **

Buffy and Giles were back to getting dinner ready. Buffy checked the settings on the stove as her Watcher peeled vegetables in the sink.

“It’s clear we’re dealing with a spirit of some kind,” he ascertained. “It’s very common for Indian spirits to change to animal form.”

“Well, it was plenty uncommon for me to freeze up during a fight. I mean, I had the guy, I was ready for the takedown and I stopped. And Spike was there. Why was Spike there?” She looked at Giles questioningly.

Giles cleared his throat. “Sorry?”

“And we don’t say ‘Indian’, Giles. It’s Native American,” Buffy went on without missing a beat.

“Oh, right,” Giles agreed. “Yes, Yes. I’m always behind on the terms. Still trying not to refer to you lot as ‘bloody colonials.’”

“And the thing is, I like my evil like I like my men – evil,” Buffy stated, bringing Spike to mind again. “You know, ‘straight up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy Metropolis’ bad. Not all mixed up with guilt and the destruction of an indigenous culture.”

“The spirit warrior – Hus, you called him?” Giles inquired as he looked back at Buffy. “He’s killed innocent people.”

Buffy looked at Giles’ bowl of peeled vegetables. “Ok, you know what? We need to boil those and put them through the ricer.”

Giles turned and looked at her strangely. “I don’t think I have a ricer.”

Buffy scoffed at that. “You don’t have a ricer? What do you mean? How could someone not have a ricer?”

“Well, do you have one at home?” Giles asked indignantly.

Buffy thought for a moment. “I don’t know. What’s a ricer?”

Giles sighed. “We’ll mash them with forks, much like the Pilgrims must have. Did you catch the part about the innocent victims?”

“Yeah, ok. I do want to stop him, Giles. I’d just like to find a non-slayee way to do it,” she said. _I promised Willow._

There was a knock at the door. Buffy walked over and opened to Willow standing with a huge pile of books.

“Hey, Will,” Buffy greeted.

“Hey,” Willow replied.

“Where are the peas?” Buffy asked.

Willow shifted her books so that the box of peas slid into view. “Peas.”

Buffy took the small box of peas and flounced back into the kitchen leaving Willow to struggle with a mound of books. When she finally got a good look at them, she pouted. “These are frozen.”

Giles came out of the kitchen and noticed Willow making her way blindly to the table. “What’s all that?” He moved closer in case she needed help.

“Atrocities. I got the full scoop on the Chumash Indians and our fabulous buried mission,” she told the watcher.

Buffy walked back into the living room holding the box of peas with a wrinkle in her nose. “You said you were going to get fresh ones.”

Willow looked up. “Atrocities?”

Buffy huffed. How could her friend forget the important dinner she was making? “Peas. They come in little pods. You were going to shell them,” she whined.

“I didn’t have time,” Willow said as she lay out the books she got from the library. “I was busy reading about the Chumash War.”

Giles looked surprised. “The Chumash were peaceful.”

Willow scoffed in disgust. “Oh, they were peaceful, all right. They were fluffy indigenous kittens, until we came along.”

“They’re going to be mushy,” Buffy was still complaining about her ruined dinner.

“They won’t be mushy,” Willow assured her friend without bothering to look up.

“I like mushy peas,” Giles announced as he helped Willow.

“You’re the reason we had to have Pilgrims in the first place.” Buffy glanced at Giles before going back into the kitchen. “So what happened with the Chumash?”

That question seemed to open up a dam of loathing. “How about imprisonment, forced labor, and herded like animals into a mission full of bad European diseases?”

“Boy. Cultural Partnership Center really didn’t stress any of that stuff,” Buffy mumbled as she concentrated on her dinner.

“Not even a diorama. It gets better. The few Chumash who tried to rebel were hanged. When a group was accused of stealing cattle, they were killed – men, women, and children. And for proof to bring back to their accusers . . .” Willow started to say.

“They cut off their ears?” Giles supplied, cutting her off.

“So Hus wasn’t kidding about the rightful vengeance routine?” Buffy threw the question out.

“He’s recreating all the wrongs done to his people,” Giles surmised. “And it’s up to us to stop him.”

“Yes,” Buffy agreed, “but after dinner, right?” She wasn’t cooking this dinner for nothing, damn it.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t be helping him?” Willow asked Giles.

Giles brow furrowed. Willow couldn’t be serious. “No, I think perhaps we won’t help the angry spirit with his raping and pillaging and murdering plot.”

“Well, ok, no,” Willow agreed. She didn’t mean to help kill people. _What was Giles thinking?_ “But we should be helping him redress his wrongs. Bring the atrocities to light.”

 _What was this the late ‘60s with a war protester?_ “If the history books are full of them, I’d say they already are,” Giles pointed out.

“Giving his land back,” Willow suggested.

“It’s not exactly ours to give,” Giles argued.

“I don’t think you wanna help,” Willow shot back. “I think you just wanna slay the demon, and then go on your merry way!”

Giles was getting angrier by the minute. _Didn’t Willow see the real danger here?_ “And I think your sympathy for his plight has blinded you to certain urgent facts. We have to stop him!”

“Ok, unfeeling guy!” Willow accused. Okay, so it was a bit immature, but Giles was being unreasonable.

Giles pursed his lips. “Willow, that’s not fair.”

Buffy couldn’t take the tension anymore and said loudly, “I have to baste,” before turning to open the stove.

“Willow, I--” Giles looked back to see if Buffy was listening before he lowered his voice. “I have reason to believe Buffy herself may be in particular danger from this menace.”

“You mean . . . Angel?” she whispered back. “I saw him, too. With Spike. What’s up with that?”

Giles looked concerned. “Well, that’s not terribly stealthy of him.”

Willow nodded. “I think he’s lost his edge, but why is he with Spike?”

“He seems to have recruited Spike to watch over Buffy and help her when he’s not here,” Giles said. “Buffy doesn’t know does she?”

“Oh, no, not a peep,” Willow guaranteed him.

“Well, that’s good, but this is why I think we should all keep a level head in this,” Giles replied.

“And I happen to think mine is the level head, and yours is the one things would roll off of,” Willow shot back.

**************************

**_UC Sunnydale Cultural Partnership Center_ **

Angel had searched the whole building for anything out of the ordinary. Well, he’d found it as he had come upon a broken window in the hallway before entering a room housing the Chumash display. He perused the room with a flashlight. There was a lot of damage to one display case and a reception desk. Walking further into the room to investigate the broken case, he found that all the Chumash weapons were missing. He took note of everything he had seen so far – thank God for a photographic memory – and left the building as silently as he had entered.

As Angel walked through the shadows his mind drifted to the two reasons he was here: Buffy and Spike. Buffy had grown up so much in the past months since he last seen her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. He still thought that he made the right choice for both of them by leaving. Outside of her choice of men lately, what with that kid Spike told him about that she had the one night stand with, and now having seen her talk to the muscle-bound boy, she seemed to be doing just fine for herself. After all he had given her up to find a life with a normal guy. But the guy from earlier tonight, Riley, if he remembered Willow right, something about him was off. He knew Spike had felt the same way.

Spike. His boy. Angel’s body was reacting to having him so near. Spike was fighting his reaction just as he was. The arousal he scented from Spike was near drowning his senses. The demon in him – no, not the demon – the demon was there to feed. It was Angelus. Angelus was the one to take and possess. Angelus was the one who created Spike. Angelus who had laid dormant inside ever since Willow put the soul back in him. When Angel renewed the claim on Spike, Angelus reared up. He wanted his boy back.

After Buffy sent him to Hell with a soul, he came back feral. That wasn’t Angelus on the surface. That was Angel after 100 years of trying to survive with a soul in a place that preyed on such things. He was lucky to have survived as long as he did. All that time Angelus spent laughing at him as Angel took punishments meant for him. When he came back from the Hell dimension, Angelus shut up as if he was pissed off and brooding that his tainted, human-loving version had survived.

Angelus remained silent until Spike showed up in L.A. and Angel restored the Sire-claim. He could feel the stirrings of his former self wanting to reach out to his childe. Everything that had happened lately were all pointing to some subconscious need – coming back to Sunnydale to help Buffy with this Chumash spirit, seeing Spike again, sleeping next to him, working with him, standing so close to him in the shadows as they spied on Buffy and Willow, surrounded with the scent of his child’s reaction to him. Angelus was near howling inside him to completely reclaim his boy even as Spike’s own demon was reaching out to the familial connection.

Angel shook his head to clear it. He couldn’t give into his own desires now, not with Buffy in possible danger. As much as he wanted Spike, or Angelus wanted his boy, he couldn’t succumb to that need right now. He was here for a reason other than Spike. Angelus was just going to have to wait; _he_ was going to have to wait. _Spike_ was going to have to wait. God, that boy was going to be the death of ‘im.

**************************

**_Giles Apartment_ **

Xander and Anya had shown up for dinner even though he was sick with everything imaginable. The Scoobies looked into all his symptoms while he rested on the couch. Anya was beside him scaring him more than sympathizing with him.

“Uh, you’re going to get vesicles and pustules. They have pictures see?” Anya was perky as she tried to show Xander the book.

Xander glanced at the book and groaned. “I hate this guy.”

“He’s just doing what was done to him,” Willow said petulantly.

“I didn’t give him syphilis,” Xander cried.

“No,” Giles agreed, “but you freed his spirit, and after a century of unrest, he saw you as one of his oppressors.”

“What,” Xander was incensed. Well, as much as Xander could be incensed. “So he rises up and infects the first guy he sees? That’s no fair.”

“Like you’ve never woken up cranky?” Willow asked.

“But why the others? Why them particularly?” Giles asked to stave off the childish argument.

“So we take this guy out?” Xander looked hopefully at Buffy. “Buffy is for to be slaying sometime soon, yeah?”

Buffy looked up from her stirring with a stressed expression. “That’s sort of the question before the court.”

“Question?” Xander squeaked.

“There are two side of it,” Willow whined.

“Slaying him?” Xander looked aghast. “The representative from syphilis votes yea!”

“It’s not that simple,” Willow argued.

“He’s a vengeance demon,” Xander countered. “You don’t talk to vengeance demons. You kill them.”

That got Anya’s attention. She drew back from Xander as if he’d burned her. “I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“What?” Xander was confused by Anya’s reaction.

“Anyway,” Willow cut in, “he’s a spirit, not a demon.”

“Yes,” Giles agreed. “We’ve never faced this sort of spirit before. We really don’t know what will kill it.”

“Again with the killing!” Willow glared at Giles.

“Figuratively speaking,” Giles amended. “Or bind it or whatever. Yes, Willow, we all appreciate your perspective.”

“Sometimes vengeance is justified, Xander.” Anya was still defending her previous profession.

“You know that I didn’t mean you,” Xander said apologetically.

“I don’t think anyone appreciates the truth of the situation,” Willow was still arguing her side of this whole ‘killing the Indian spirit’.

“Oh, I think we do,” Giles shot back.

“This is no good!” Buffy shouted over the din of arguing. “It needs more condensed milk.” She turned her back on her friends and went about making dinner.

“Buffy, Xander’s in real danger. Are you sure the solution is pie?” Giles was confused by his slayer’s reaction to this situation.

Buffy was adding more condensed milk to her bowl. “Over bickering and confusion, I’ll take pie. We _will_ find a solution. And we _will_ have a nice dinner, ok? Both. End of story. I’m having this Thanksgiving, and it’s going to be perfect.”

“Hus won’t stop,” Giles told her. “Vengeance is never sated, Buffy. Hatred is a cycle. All he will do is kill more people.”

There was another knock at the door and Buffy practically ran to answer it, using it as a way to get her out of this discussion. Her face fell in disappointment when she found Spike standing on the other side, cowering under a blanket with smoke rising as the indirect sun hit him.

“Hello, again, pet,” Spike greeted with a smirk.

Buffy immediately shoved him back and he tumbled into the sunlight.

“Oi! Hey! What’s wrong with you, you daft bint?” Spike yelled as he skittered from the sunlight.

“I’m sorry. I saw a vampire at my door it was reflex,” Buffy said sarcastically.

“Bloody hell, woman, I’m parboiling out here!” Spike said angrily.

Buffy took the stake as Giles handed it to her. “Want me to help make it quicker?”

“Invite me in, Giles!” Spike’s eyes narrowed on the watcher.

“Without my safeguard, it’s fairly unlikely,” Giles said nonchalantly. Without Angel there, there was no way he was allowing Spike in his house.

“Oi! Damn it! Look, I’m safe. I won’t bite you. Willow tell ‘em what happened,” Spike begged the witch.

“Well, when I was leaving the coffee shop, a vamp came out of nowhere and tried to make a meal out of me when Spike saved me,” Willow said.

“Will, why didn’t you say anything before?” Buffy asked her friend.

“Well, with all the Chumash Indian spirit thing going on, it didn’t seem important, being that this _is_ Sunnydale,” Willow explained.

“So we should just let the mass murderer in because he saved Willow’s life,” Anya asked to no one in particular.

“Why not? We’ve let an ex-vengeance demon in here,” Willow said sarcastically.

“Hey!” Anya cried.

“Bloody hell!” Spike was exasperated. All the petty bickering was driving him up a wall. “Giles! You know! You know why I came here! Let me in.”

That’s true. Giles knew why he was here. Angel must have sent him back after he was finished with his errand. “Fine, but no eating humans in my house,” the watcher said sternly.

“Giles!” was echoed around the room.

**************************

**_UC Sunnydale Cultural Center’s New Site, Underground_ **

“First people, who dwell in mishupashup, hear me and descend. Walk with me upon itiashup again. Hear me also, nunashush. Spirits from below . . . creatures of the night . . . take human form and join the battle. Bring me my revenge,” Hus said the prayer as he summoned the spirits of the dead to align with his cause.

A cloud of green smoke rose up from the ground and shifted into a dozen warriors.

**************************

**_Giles Apartment_ **

Buffy was in the process of tying Spike to a chair while the others ignored him. Spike wondered how much it would take for Angel to owe him on this one. Being tied to a chair when he had come in peace certainly wiped the slate clean of his transgression in the German submarine back in ’43; at least it did in Spike’s book. Angel always saw things differently than the rest of the family. Okay the ropes were actually starting to hurt and not in an ‘Angelus-tying-me-up-for-a-bout-of-sexual-violence’ kind of way.

Spike growled as the bonds became tighter. “Bloody hell, woman! You’re cuttin’ off my circulation.”

“You don’t have any circulation,” Buffy reminded him.

“Well, it pinches,” Spike growled softly. Ooh, Angel had it coming to him after this.

“Get used to it. I have more important things than a vampire trying to kill my friends,” Buffy told him.

“Oi! I came to you in friendship,” Spike said, receiving a disbelieving look from Buffy. “Well, all right, seething hatred, but I’m here to help and I feel I’m being mistreated.”

“So then, tell me everything you know,” Buffy needled.

“I’m too hungry to remember everything,” Spike told her in a petulant tone.

“Then you’re stuck here,” Buffy mused as she stood up and walked away from him.

Anya was in the kitchen stirring a pot. “Uh, how much butter goes in with these?”

“About half a stick and a quarter cup of brandy,” Buffy said, then thought about it, turning to Giles, “You do have brandy, don’t you?”

Giles looked up from his research on the Chumash Indians. “What? Oh, yes. On the bookcase.”

Spike had perked up at the mention of liquor. After what he’s gone through since the pouf showed up, he could use a strong drink or ten. “I wouldn’t say no to a brandy,” he spoke up.

Giles had a concerned look on his face. “What’s wrong?” Buffy asked.

“Hm. The victims. Apart from Xander, Hus has targeted authority figures: Father Gabriel, the curator of the cultural center. Who else fits this pattern?”

“Just a small brandy,” Spike inquired, still waiting for someone to acknowledge him.

Buffy’s eyes lit up as a thought hit. “The dean. Dean Guerrero. He’s the king of us, and he was at the ceremony.”

Giles nodded. “He’s a likely candidate. We should warn him.”

Buffy turned to Willow. “Will, is there anything in those books about how to stop a Native American spirit guy? Some nice, non-judgmental way to, you know, kill him?”

Willow looked disheartened. Was no one listening to her? “I’m not going to help you kill him. I’m not on board. Very off the board of lining up to kill him!”

“What other choice do we have?” Buffy asked her friend.

“Buffy, this isn’t a western,” Willow said throwing her hands up. “We’re not at Fort . . . Giles with the cavalry a-comin’ to save us. It’s one lonely guy. Oppressed warrior guy who’s just trying to . . .”

“Kill a lot of people?” Buffy supplied.

“Well, I didn’t say he was right,” Willow pouted.

Buffy sighed. “Will, you know how bad I feel about this. It’s eating me up--” Just then, Anya walked past her with the liquor. “One-fourth cup of brandy and let it simmer--” Then turning back to Willow, “But even though it’s hard, we have to end this. Yes, he’s been wronged, and I personally would be ready to apologize--”

“Oi! For crying out loud, someone put a stake in me,” Spike sighed as he rolled his eyes at the conversation.

“You got a lot of volunteers in here,” Xander said tiredly.

Spike shot a look at Xander, who was too weak to move from his place on the couch. “I just can’t take all this mamby-pamby boo-hooing about the bloody Indians.”

“Uh, the preferred term--” Buffy started to correct Spike.

Spike cut her off. “You won. All right? You came in and you killed them and you took their land. That’s what conquering nations do. It’s what Caesar did, and he’s not going around saying, ‘I came, I conquered, I felt really bad about it.’ The history of the world isn’t people making friends. You had better weapons, and you massacred them. End of story.” He looked around the room. “I could use that brandy right about now!”

Buffy shrugged. “Well, I think the Spaniards actually did a lot of— not that I don’t like Spaniards,” she corrected herself after an accusatory look from Willow.

Spike closed his eyes and counted to ten, very slowly. He was going to dust Angel at the end of this. “Listen to you. How are you going to fight anyone with that attitude?”

Willow frowned. “We don’t want to fight anyone.”

“I just want to have Thanksgiving,” Buffy pouted.

Spike chuckled at that. “Yeah? Good luck.”

“If we could talk to him--” Willow started to suggest.

Spike cut her off. “You exterminated his race.” He shook his head and went on. “What could you possibly say that would make him feel better? It’s kill or be killed here. Take your bloody pick.”

Xander lazily raised his hand. “Maybe it’s the syphilis talking, but . . . some of that made sense.”

“I made these points earlier, but fine, no one listens to me,” Giles grumbled as he took a sip of brandy.

Buffy held up her hands in defeat. “Fine, okay? But someone still has to go warn the dean.”

Willow glared at her friends and Giles. “I’ll go. I need the air.”

Buffy gave her a concerned look. “Not alone.”

Anya perked up from the kitchen. “I’ll go.”

Xander examined his situation. Be sick and stuck here with a restrained vampire or be sick and check on the dean _away_ from the restrained vampire. “Me too!”

“Are you sure you’re up to it, Xander?” Buffy asked, concerned for her friend’s condition.

“Oi, stay here Xander. You look ready to drop any minute, and as much as I’d like to drink you, I gave my word,” Spike told the sick boy.

Xander weighed his options again and staggered to his feet. “Yep, I’m up to it.”

“I’ll keep on looking for a solution,” Giles told Willow as she was leaving.

“Guys, the dean’s house is up past the gym. And hurry, dinner’s in an hour!”

Spike’s brows furrowed. “Hey, when do I get fed?”

Buffy glanced at him. “Later,” she said before turning to Giles, “I hope the others are okay.”

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow. “You do know what happens to vampires who don’t get to feed?”

“I always wondered that,” Buffy said noncommittally. “Giles, can you get the plates.”

“Living skeletons mate. Like the famine pictures from those dusty countries, only not half as funny,” Spike told her.

“You can have gravy,” Buffy told him. “There’s blood in it, right?”

Spike cocked his head. “Do you know what else has blood in it? Blood.”

Buffy glared at Spike. “Do I have to gag you? Because I am not going to listen to you whine all the way through my dinner. It’s gonna be a nice, quiet, civilized--”

Suddenly an arrow pierced the decorative scarecrow centerpiece on the table. Hus was in the window with a bow and arrow.

“You!” Buffy cried. “Listen, maybe I wasn’t clear before about how terrible we all feel. ’Cause we’re trying to help you.”

Spike looked around wondering what the hell the Slayer was going on about. “What’s going on?!”

“It isn’t working,” Giles hissed at Buffy.

“Uh, you can have casinos now,” Buffy told the Indian.

“Good Lord, Buffy, get down!” Giles told his slayer as an arrow went past.

Giles and Buffy crouched behind the table as arrows rained through the window, thus leaving Spike out in the open on his own.

“What about me?” Spike shouted at Giles. “You’re just going to leave me here like this?” At that moment an arrow hit his chest a few inches from his heart. “HEY! Watch the heart!” he yelled at the unseen enemy.

**************************

**_Outside Dean Guerrero’s House_ **

Willow, Anya and Xander were walking down the drive of the dean’s house.

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Anya announced.

“I think he thought we were crazy,” Xander chipped in.

“Well, maybe if _Anya_ hadn’t opened the conversation with, ‘Everybody got both ears?’” Willow suggested.

Anya seemed resolved by the whole experience. “I liked his wife. She gave me pie,” she said holding up the pie.

“So what do we do now?” Willow asked her companions.

“We could stay here and stand watch, or I just don’t--”

Just then, Angel came out of the shadows. “Willow,” he called.

“Angel?” Xander asked as he stepped closer.

Anya sized the dark vampire up. “So this is Angel? He’s large and glower-y isn’t he?”

Xander’s eyes got bigger at the thought of what Angel would be doing back in Sunnydale. “Oh! He’s evil again!”

Angel looked at Xander in disgust. “I’m not evil again. Why does everyone _always_ think that?”

“Angel’s here to protect Buffy,” Willow said as she smacked Xander in the back of the head.

“I haven’t been evil for a long time,” Angel said moodily.

“She’s not supposed to know he’s here,” Willow said before asking, “Angel, do you have something new?”

“Yeah. All the Chumash weapons are missing from the cultural center. Something’s up,” Angel answered. “Where’s Buffy?”

“She’s still at Giles’ house. She sent us to check on Dean Guerrero,” Willow replied.

“Why the Dean?” Angel asked a bit confused.

“We think he’s going after someone in charge. A leader?” Willow told him.

Angel thought about it for a moment and shook his head. “He’s a warrior. To a warrior, the leader means the strongest fighter.”

“Buffy!” Willow exclaimed.

“He’s formed a raiding party,” Angel told her.

“We got to get over there,” Willow said anxiously.

“I’ll call over there. You get back fast,” Angel went over to a bicycle rack and crouched down to snap the chain lock on a bicycle.

As he watched them leave, Angel hoped they got back to Giles’ in time. He was worried about Buffy. He hoped Spike was there to help by now. He prayed that Buffy would accept his help and not stake him. Spike was a good fighter; he could be an asset in this situation. Angel pulled out his cell phone and dialed Giles number.

**************************

**_Giles Apartment_ **

Giles and Buffy were crawling around the floor dodging arrows when the phone rang. Giles quickly reached up and snagged the receiver. “Hello? Yes . . . Yes . . . w-w-we’re well aware of that . . . Yes! We-we’re under siege now, actually . . . Thank you!” Giles blindly hung the receiver up and started crawling for a safer place.

“Who was that?” Buffy couldn’t believe someone would be calling at a time like this.

“A— Someone. Uh, we need a plan,” Giles told her with a raised brow.

“Yes, let’s talk about it some more,” Buffy said sarcastically. “Where’s your weapons chest?”

Giles took a look at his surroundings before waving over to a chest across the room. “Over there.”

Buffy crawled over to the chest on her stomach after a moment’s pause. Just as she was about to reach for it an arrow pierced her arm. “Ohh!” she cried as she pulled back.

“Buffy!” Giles shouted in concern.

Spike looked over at the pair frantically. His body was riddled with arrows. “Remember that conquering nation thing? Forget it. Apologize.”

“Shut up, Spike,” Buffy said through gritted teeth as she pulled the arrow out of her arm.

“Fine,” Spike scoffed. “I’ll do it myself.” He craned his neck to get a look at their attackers. “Hey, sorry! Sorry about that, chief!”

“Buffy looked around at all the arrows zipping by. “How many?” she asked Giles.

“Uh,” Giles took stock of the situation. “The leader’s upstairs. There are two by the living room windows, and, uh, one through the window by the door.”

Buffy sighed. “Too many. We need help.”

Spike was taking inventory of his wounds and tallying up how much groveling Angel would be doing after this was over. “Okay, one . . . two . . . three . . . Ow!” Another arrow hit him in the upper thigh near his crotch. “Bloody fucking hell!”

Buffy was trying to kill an Indian with little result. “Giles, these guys— they don’t die!”

Giles was wrestling with an Indian who had him by the neck and pounding his head into the wall. “Bit busy over here!”

Spike was pogo-ing the chair out of the way of flying arrows when the chair became unbalanced and fell over taking him with it. “Hey!”

**************************

**_Outside Giles Apartment_ **

Willow and Anya were beating an Indian with a shovel. “Why *bang* Don’t *pound* You *clunk* Die?! *bang*”

At that moment Angel ran up, grabbing the Indian away from Willow and snapped his neck with a deft twist before letting the body drop. Angel stood there panting with unneeded breath from his race back to Giles’ place and fighting.

Anya looked surprised. “What’s he like when he is evil?”

Angel was grabbed from behind by the neck and was struggling with his attacker when he called to the girls, “Help the others!”

The girls ran for the door. Inside Buffy was fighting with Hus and had sliced his arm with his own knife, thus leaving a bleeding cut. Buffy pulled back in awe.

“Your knife can kill you,” Buffy nearly whispered.

A few seconds later Hus shape shifted into a big black bear.

“A bear!” Buffy cried as she stumbled back.

Spike’s eyes became as huge as saucers as his vision from the ground took in the sight of the huge beast. “You made a bear!”

Buffy flinched. “I didn’t mean to.”

Spike wiggled in his captivity trying to get away from the beast. “Undo it! Undo it!”

“Hey, Gentle Ben, over here,” Xander taunted as he started throwing food at the bear. “That’s for giving me syphilis.”

Buffy took the opportunity to stab the bear in the back as Xander distracted him. A second later the bear dissolved into mist.

Spike looked around from his place on the floor. Willow and Anya came over to set his chair up. “What happened? Did we win?”

**************************

**_Outside Giles Apartment_ **

Angel started to walk away after he saw Buffy but turned his head as Anya and Willow came into his peripheral vision, pulling his childe up from where he was tied to a chair. Why wasn’t he helping? Angel felt a flash of anger and confusion course through his body as he stalked into the house, staying in the shadows as he did.

**************************

**_Inside Giles Apartment_ **

Everyone was gathered around the table eating, including Spike who was still tied to the chair.

“I feel lousy,” Willow said, disgusted with her part in the fight.

“Well the turkey came out rather splendidly,” Giles commented.

“Oh, it was yummy,” Buffy agreed.

“It’s just . . . Did you see me? Two seconds of conflict with an indigenous person, and I turned into General Custer,” Willow bemoaned.

“Yes, well violence does tend to do that. Instinct takes over,” Giles said in consolation.

“Yeah, that’s the fun of it,” Spike smirked.

Buffy glared at Spike. “Nobody asked you.”

“Oh, lay off,” Spike said angrily. “You all had a fine meal.”

“But me . . .” Willow whined. “An entire siege.”

“You’d think that with all that fighting, one of you would bleed a little. But no, the only people that got hurt during the whole thing was a vampire and a fast-healing slayer,” Spike griped as he looked down at the arrows still protruding from his body.

“Well, still, good work Buffy . . . on both counts,” Giles complimented her.

“Thanks,” Buffy said smiling.

“Well, you know, you should be very pleased,” Giles went on.

“It wasn’t a perfect Thanksgiving,” Buffy pouted.

“I don’t know. It seemed kinda right to me,” Willow commented. “A bunch of anticipation, a big fight, and now we’re all sleepy. And we did all survive.”

“I guess that much is true,” Buffy agreed. “First Thanksgiving on my own, and we all got through it.”

Xander smiled and patted Anya on the shoulder. “And you know what? I think my syphilis is clearing right up.”

Buffy gave a sidelong glance as Xander. “And they say romance is dead . . . or maybe they just wish it.”

“Well, maybe we started a new tradition this year,” Willow said sprightly which earned her a glare from everyone including Spike. “Maybe not. But at least we all worked together. It was like old times.”

“Yeah, especially with Angel being here and everything,” Xander said as he shoveled food into his mouth.

Spike gave Buffy a sidelong glance to delight in her reaction as everyone else stared at Buffy to see the same thing. Buffy looked surprised and opened her mouth to speak when Angel stepped out of the shadows and she shut it again, right quick.

“Hello, Buffy,” Angel said smiling. Angel had thought Spike had left, so he didn’t see him right away. Then he caught movement and his eyes shifted slightly so he could see the blonde with arrows were still covering his body. Raising an eyebrow, he said, “What’s he doing here?”

“I might ask the same of you, Angel,” Buffy said.

“Oh. Well, about that . . .” Angel started.

“What Angel? You leave me then you suddenly come back and I have to hear it from Xander that you’re here? Who else knew that you were here?” She asked, her eyes flashing with hurt and anger.

Angel bit his lip and said, “Well . . . Willow, Xander, Giles and well . . . Spike.”

Buffy’s eyes flashed again, “Oh, so nearly everyone and you thought not to tell me. What a surprise. Anything else you chose not to tell me, like you were here watching me or something? Or maybe you even sent Spike to watch me and blackmailed Giles into letting him help?”

Angel winced, Buffy looked shocked and Spike, well, Spike laughed in huge guffaws. He thought this was bloody good entertainment. The pouf was getting a little payback and the Slayer was being put in her place. He failed to notice the glares he was getting from the ex-lovers and when he did, it was too late. “Uhm…Peaches? Why are you . . .?” He was cut off as Angel’s hand closed over his throat.

“Shut up, childe. We’re leaving. Now,” Angel commanded and Buffy stepped forward.

“I don’t think so. You are going to tell me what’s going on and I mean right now,” she commanded right back at him.

Angel just knew this wasn’t going to be pretty. What could he tell her that wouldn’t get him staked by a wooden spoon? He still had his hand wrapped around Spike’s throat and even though Spike didn’t need to breathe, he swallowed causing his Adam’s apple to move against Angel’s palm. The action was small, but with Angel’s body still in tune with Spike’s from the week old renewal on the claim, he gritted his teeth against the sensations the thought of Spike’s throat was invoking. "I can't tell you everything, but just know that I was trying to help you," Angel hedged through clenched teeth.

"Help me? Help me?! By bringing Spike into this? How?" Buffy asked, incredulous.

“I sent him back here to watch out for you, to help you if he could,” Angel explained.

“Peaches, I warned you that she didn’t want me around, she’d just as soon stake me,” Spike told his Sire in a choked voice.

“Why the hell is Spike tied up and full of arrows?” Angel turned angry eyes between the Slayer and the watcher. In that moment if they didn’t know he’d had his soul they would have all mistaken him for Angelus.

“Well, uhm--” Giles started to explain his part in it.

“It’s Spike, Angel! A soulless vampire who has no qualms about lying or deceiving anyone,” Buffy said angrily.

Angel turned angry eyes at his childe. “What did you tell them, Spike?”

Spike’s hands went up quick in a sign of surrender. “Nothing, Angel. I swear. Red there even vouched for me.”

Angel nodded seeing the truth in Spike’s eyes. He turned back to Giles and gave him a questioning look.

“Angel, all I told him was that wasn’t allowed to eat humans in my house,” Giles defended himself. “Buffy’s the one that tied him up.”

Buffy’s eyes went wide as Giles threw the accusatory eyes her way. Her watcher had just bailed on her. What did it mean when your watcher fed you to the wolves? She took a deep breath and faced her ex-lover. “Angel, how was I supposed to know he was telling the truth, he never said why he was here, just that Giles knew why and Giles wouldn’t tell me. I couldn’t just let an evil vampire run around unchecked,” Buffy explained.

Angel scoffed. “He’s been running around for the past three days unchecked, and, might I add, helping me to protect your ass. I was the one keeping him in check. Did you ever wander why _he_ of all people would come back to a Hellmouth town with no incentive whatsoever? Dru’s not here. So why would he come back since the Gem of Amara was no longer here? He came back because I told him to, for you. I knew he could help you, watch your back if need be. And you have him tied to a chair and full of arrows!” Angel gestured at Spike’s display.

Luckily Spike had kept silent and watched the argument between the Slayer and his Sire intently. “Did you even think to pull the arrows out of his body? No, of course you didn’t, he’s an evil, soulless demon who doesn’t feel pain.” Angel gripped the arrow in Spike’s thigh and jerked it out as easily as he could muster. When Spike roared in pain, Angel glanced up at him with an apologetic look.

Angel gripped another arrow sheath and braced himself. He looked into Spike’s eyes for confirmation and when he received the nod, pulled out that arrow, receiving a growl for his efforts. It took some time and a lot of growling from Spike before all the arrows were removed from the blonde’s body, after which, Angel untied his childe.

Spike stood up and glared at the Slayer for a moment. When he heard a commanding growl from his Sire he dropped his gaze. He refused to bow his head in submission to his Sire in front of these humans. Fortunately, Angel understood and didn’t demand it of him.

Angel addressed Giles when he said, “I’ll be taking Spike back to his crypt and help him heal up.” Then turned to Buffy and her friends, “And the next time Spike is around,” Angel looked at the blonde, “yes, be cautious, but for right now, remember that he’s here to help you because of me.”

With that he led Spike out of the apartment while everyone stared at them, either with an ashamed or guilty look on their face. All, that is, except for Buffy, who ground her teeth at the audacity that Angel showed up in her town ordering her to accept Spike as a partner in the fight against evil. The blonde menace _was_ evil. And what was that whole bit about Angel calling Spike his childe? Buffy thought Drusilla was Spike’s Sire.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 6: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 6)_

**_Spike’s Crypt_ **

Angel opened the door to Spike’s crypt and helped Spike hobble inside. He had to practically carry his childe the six blocks between here and Giles’ apartment. Somehow, he had to get Spike into the lower level of his crypt without jostling his injuries too much. That was going to be an ordeal. The way it was now, Spike groaned with each shift of his body. It didn’t really help the healing, but Angel hadn’t wanted the wounds to heal until he got some blood into his childe’s prone body. For that to happen, he needed Spike to lie still on a bed, allowing the abrasions to heal.

Angel left the door open as he practically carried Spike down the ladder to the lower part of the crypt which housed the big four-post bed. He hobbled the slighter blonde over to the bed and encouraged him to lie down. Once Spike was settled, he went about removing the blonde’s clothes, looking his childe over to determine the severity of the arrow wounds.

He couldn’t believe Buffy had tied Spike up – well he could, but that wasn’t the case here – and left him defenseless against Indian spirits with bow and arrows. What was she thinking? Angel was beginning to doubt his idea of sending his childe back here to watch over her. She clearly didn’t seem to want help from anyone other than her friends, even though she needed it.

Once the clothes were off he stepped back and took a look at his boy. The beautiful, normally flawless, marble-white skin was marred with small lesions. One of which was close to Spike’s heart, in roughly the same place that Faith’s poisoned arrow had gotten him last year. Angel’s mind couldn’t wrap itself around the thought that if the arrow had hit a few more inches to the left he would have lost his childe forever. Just because he and Spike rarely saw eye-to-eye and argued and fought over the years, it didn’t matter. That was just how the Aurelian family was. It didn’t mean he ever wanted his boy dusted.

Once Spike hit the bed the pain from being jostled finally sent him into oblivion as he passed out. Angel left him to sleep while he went to get human blood from the blood bank. Even if it was better to use Sire’s blood, he still needed to give Spike’s body something other than pig’s blood to aide in the healing.

An hour later he was back with five pints of A-negative blood. Luckily the orderly who had given the bags to him remembered who he was, thus procuring the blood was easy. After heating a mug of the stuff mixed with his own blood, he climbed down to the lower level of the crypt. Now, it was just the task of awakening Spike enough to drink it.

Angel went over to sit on the bed next to the blonde and leaned against the headboard. He watched as Spike slept for a few moments before trying to rouse him with light feathery touches. It was reminiscent of how Angelus touched him to wake him up. A few light teasing touches to the sensitive areas of his childe’s body would have Spike squirming out of his sleep.

“Spike?” Angel murmured near the blonde’s ear. When he received no immediate reaction, he caressed his fingertips lightly around the wounds. Spike woke up with a low growl, his eyes opening to reveal gold orbs as he stared at Angel.

Angel smiled at him. It was an actual smile that didn’t look as if he was still brooding during the act. “Hey,” he whispered. “You need to feed, Spike, so that your wounds will heal more quickly.”

Spike growled an acknowledgement. Angel shook his head knowingly. His boy never woke up easily. The dark vampire held up a mug of hot blood. He waved it under his childe’s nose until Spike gave a whimpering growl in his chest when the intermingled scents of human blood and Sire’s blood registered in his mind.

Angel assisted him as Spike struggled to sit up enough to drink. The older vampire slipped around the blonde’s back and propped the pillows against the headboard before leaning back and pulling Spike back to recline against his chest so that the younger vampire was elevated enough to not spill the blood on the bedding.

When Spike was finished drinking, he lay back against Angel, feeling the other vampire shift around as he placed the cup on the nightstand by the bed. When they were settled with the blonde’s head on his shoulder, Angel started a low, steady purr that set of a relaxing vibration for his childe. It had never failed to comfort the younger vampire in the past.

The older vampire looked down at Spike while he softly combed his fingertips through the blonde hair gently freeing the strands of hair gel until the natural curls appeared. After so many years apart Angel missed the connection he had shared with his boy. He knew he had a lot to make up to Spike and Will and didn’t think that would ever be accomplished in this century.

While Angel watched Spike sleep his mind drifted back to the past to nights like this when Spike was injured and needed his Sire . . .

**************************

**_Paris, 1897_ **

_Darla and Angelus had gone out to see the play Gisele leaving Spike to care for Drusilla. Everything was going fine until the vampiress got it in her head that she wanted to go out. That was something that Angelus had expressly told the young vampire never to do without his Sire present. Okay, so technically Drusilla was his Sire by right, and technically she was there, well not all there. She did have a few screws loose in the noggin._

_That was no truer statement than right at this moment as Drusilla tried to cajole Spike into being her partner in crime and go with her to find something to eat, or so she said. She was already tired of the captives that Angelus had chained in the basement for her. Day-old blood was disgusting she had told Spike._

_Drusilla had tried everything to get Spike to heel to her wishes. When cajoling didn’t work, she tried to be playful with him. Spike still wouldn’t take her out. She had tried to tell him a false vision of things that would happen in the world if he didn’t take her out to kill the evil-doers. Still he refused to go against Angelus’ orders._

_When she was finally at her wits end, she threw a tantrum. She threw herself at Spike’s body and while he did catch her, they toppled to the floor. Drusilla pinned him down and beat on him because he had refused her desire to get out of the house._

_Earlier when she tried running out of the house by herself, Spike ran after her and hauled her back with her kicking and screaming, growling and biting at him the whole time. Once they were inside he deposited her on the settee and tried to get her to understand his side of things. Hence the reason she had thrown herself at him and was now beating him back and blue with the occasional scratch of her nails in her furious state._

_His black goddess even tried to hypnotize Spike but being familiar with her tactics helped in diverting that plan. Finally, Drusilla gave up and ran to the kitchen. Spike chased after her to see what her mind had gotten her into. When he rounded a corner, Drusilla wielding very sharp cutlery brought him up short. He backed away from her but with every step he took away from her, she stepped forward._

_Spike liked pain and violence as much as any other vampire; it didn’t mean he liked being on the receiving end of Drusilla’s temper any more than he had with Angelus. Drusilla cornered him in the foyer and took a swing at him managing to slice into his chest and stomach._

_Spike looked down in disbelief. His Black Goddess, his poodle had attacked him. Yes, he had known she was insane from the first night they met. But this? He had never encountered something like this before, even with her. She must really be furious that Angelus had left her home and didn’t take her out, whether it was to the play or some other gathering. All Spike could do now was to hold her off and hope that she would calm down soon._

_Two hours later Drusilla was finally wore out from her tantrum. Spike hadn’t faired must better though. His skin was sliced to ribbons. Angelus found him on the hall floor with blood trickling from the raw wounds. Drusilla had fallen asleep beside the blonde, the knife forgotten a few feet away._

_Angelus surveyed the scene. He knew his boy was fine as far as surviving one of his mad childe’s tantrums since he wasn’t a pile of dust. Taking in the aftermath of Drusilla’s short temper, he picked Drusilla up off the floor and carried her to her room. He deposited her in her bed among the cotton linens and chained her there so she wouldn’t hurt herself any more. He went back downstairs to retrieve Spike._

_Spike groaned and tried to pull away from the thing trying to move him, but it refused to let go. “No more, Dru. I told you I won’t let you go and disobey Angelus,” he mumbled._

_Angelus smiled when he heard Spike. His boy went through Hell tonight trying to obey him. He picked the smaller vampire up in his arms and carried him upstairs to his bedroom shutting the door against the girls. He only shut them out when he and Spike needed Sire/childe bonding time._

_He laid Spike on the bed and went about removing the younger man’s shredded clothing. After he discarded the ruined garments in the trash, he took in the sight of his injured childe. Drusilla had done a number on him in her anger. The dark vampire had never seen Spike this bad off after one of his girl’s episodes. Spike’s torso and arms were a bloody mess of defensive wounds and other wounds he could not have deflected fast enough._

_Angelus filled a bowl with water and grabbed a cloth. He placed the bowl on a table by the bed and sat down on the edge beside his suffering childe. He set about cleaning the superficial wounds that were already healing before moving on to the most severe._

_When Spike groaned in pain, Angelus tried to be gentler in his task. “Aye, my boy, you're lucky to be a vampire. With this much damage as a human ye would have died before I found ye.”_

_“Sire,” Spike rasped. “I only tried to keep her distracted so that she wouldn’t get into trouble.”_

_“Ye did, my boy,” Angelus agreed._

_“Her temper tonight was the worst I’ve seen so far,” Spike said slowly._

_“When she gets that way, it's best te restrain her, for her own safety as well as yours,” Angelus told him._

_Spike nodded and stayed silent as he let Angelus clean his wounds as best as he could._

_When Angelus did all he could, he put the blood-spattered cloth in the bowl of equally bloody water. He lay down next to Spike and offered the boy his wrist. In his pain-hazed mind, Spike took the offered wrist without hesitation. He skimmed his fangs over the tender flesh on the inside of Angelus’ wrist until his Sire groaned in arousal, and then he slowly sank his fangs in enough to break a vein and then drank slowly._

_Angelus was becoming more aroused with each pull of his blood as Spike sipped. He was lying on his side as he watched his boy drink, his pants becoming even tighter as he watched Spike’s lips work around his wrist._

_Spike wasn’t immune to the experience. His own arousal climbed with the scent of his Sire’s excitement and taste of Sire’s blood on his tongue. He could feel his body knitting itself together the more he drank. With the healing came the ability to feel his cock harden. Soon he was so on edge that he swallowed the blood greedily until Angelus, who was panting – which was uncharacteristic of his Sire – pulled his wrist away._

_Angelus lay on his back, panting from his own reaction to the feel of his boy drinking him in. It was a heady experience having his childe drink from him. His mind swirled and his body was near thrumming with un-life as the blood still in his body had gone to his cock when he felt Spike sipping at his wrist._

_When Angelus was finally calm, he sat up and looked the blonde over. The deeper wounds were healing nicely and good enough to clean around them thanks to his blood. He cleansed the angry red flesh on his childe’s chest and stomach and put the soiled cloth back in the water_

_Turning back to see the Spike’s noticeably hard cock, he grinned. “You seem to have a bit of a problem there, my boy.”_

_Spike saw the desire he felt mirrored in his Sire’s eyes. His cock hardened even more as if that were possible after having fed off Angelus just seconds before. His hand moved down to adjust his shaft through his pants into a more comfortable position._

_Angelus chuckled when he saw the movement and lay down beside Spike. He leaned over and cupped his companion’s face, softly caressing his cheek. As he stared down into clear cerulean eyes, his hand trailed down his childe’s chest to circle a nipple until it budded under the attention and then pinched the nub._

_When Spike’s mouth opened on a moan from the teasing assault, Angelus leaned over and licked around the boy’s lips. He traced their shape with his tongue before delving into the cool wet interior, licking the inside of Spike’s cheek before caressing the softness of his tongue._

_Spike took a small initiative to suck on Angelus’ tongue. He groaned into the kiss when his Sire tweaked the other nipple hard. His body was trembling badly with arousal, but he didn’t want the sensation to end. Not with his Sire being so gentle with him now. Instead, he rode each new wave rocked his body from what his Sire was doing, setting each of his nerve endings alight with desire and making his body hum._

_Angelus caressed his hand down the still-tender stomach, faintly brushing over the skin, causing Spike to shudder under his touch when he found a ticklish spot. He growled as Spike dug his fingers into his arms when he wrapped his hand around Spike’s shaft and started to stroke the length. He pulled back to watch his boy’s reactions as he caressed the shaft, teasingly grazing the prominent vein along the underside._

_Spike arched his back as he rocked his hips into Angelus’ hand. He growled when the dark vampire tightened his hold into a pulsing grip, squeezing a bit at the base and then loosening on the way up. His eyes glazed over in lust before melting into the yellow of his demon, even though he didn’t shift completely._

_Finally, after watching the myriad of emotions scatter across Spike’s face, Angelus’ spoke. “What do you want, childe?” he asked huskily._

_It took Spike a minute to comprehend what his Sire asked of him. “You, Sire.”_

_“You have me,” Angelus whispered hotly. “What else do you want?”_

_Angelus continued the pulsating stroke on Spike’s throbbing cock while he waited for his answer. On every other stroke, he would rub the tip of the blonde’s cock, causing the younger vampire to whimper._

_“Anything you wish for me, Sire. Just **please** don’t stop,” Spike begged. He didn’t want the euphoric feeling to end. He wanted it to go on forever._

_Angelus gave a deep chuckle. Oh, yeah. Spike was gone . . . lost to passion. At this moment, he could do anything to his childe and could get away with it as long as the exhilarating feeling stayed in place. With practiced ease, from years of dealing with a demanding Sire himself, Angelus unfastened his pants with one hand while he kept pumping Spike’s erection with the other, freeing his own erection._

_“Spike,” he whispered near the blonde’s ear, “if you don’t want me to stop stroking, then you’ll have to make yourself ready for me. Can you do that?”_

_Spike gave a jerky nod of his head and took a small jar of cream from Angelus with shaking fingers. He had never felt this good before with his Sire. Angelus helped raise his legs as he reached down to his ass with fingers covered in cool cream. As he gently slipped a finger inside, Angelus nibbled on his ear with sharp teeth as he stroked Spike’s throbbing member._

_Spike panted with unneeded breath at the combined feelings. He gently slipped another finger inside himself, carefully stretching the small, tight muscle. He added a third finger when his body had adjusted. With Angelus stroking his cock, he rocked his hips between his lubed fingers and his Sire’s fist, simultaneously teasing the prepared opening and trying to keep the pleasurable feeling running through his body._

_After what seemed like forever, Angelus ran his tongue along the column of Spike’s neck to his ear. “Are you ready for me, childe?”_

_All Spike could do was nod and whimper as he gingerly removed his fingers from his ass._

_Angelus reached over to the table and pulled out a drawer, reaching in blindly, he felt around until he found what he was looking for. He pulled the item out and moved to his knees between Spike’s legs. The blonde’s eyes were trained on the dark vampire and nowhere else. He felt more than saw Angelus place a small leather strap around the base of his cock before he leg go. Spike sobbed in dismay at the loss of contact and what he had been ‘gifted’ with._

_Angelus took some cream from the jar that Spike still held and slicked up his dick. He smiled at his childe while he took the jar from him and put it on the table by the bed. He settled back between Spike’s thighs and stroked the cream along his erection._

_Spike’s eyes went wide. It wasn’t that often lately that his Sire used any lubrication before fucking him. He silently thanked Drusilla for injuring him to the point that he needed Angelus. The older vampire seemed to care about what pleased the blonde tonight._

_“Are you ready, boy?” Angelus asked as he rubbed the head of his dick against the small rosebud hidden between the blonde’s cheeks._

_Spike wanted to cry with joy that his Sire cared enough to ask. He nodded erratically as his whole body vibrated with arousal. “Please, Sire,” Spike begged._

_Angelus pressed against the clenched muscle until it slowly opened for him. He growled deep in his chest when he met the resistance of Spike’s inner muscles. The dark vampire kept pushing, and the blonde kept trying to open himself to the invasion. Angelus lay over his childe as he rocked his hips a bit harder seeking entrance into his boy._

_“Come on, William, open up for me, let me in,” Angelus cooed near his ear._

_Something in the purr of his Sire’s voice against his ear broke the opposition inside Spike as his body stretched to accept the cock slowly moving deeper inside him. Both vampires released a cry at the feeling. Angelus for finally being buried deep inside Spike, and Spike for finally being stretched and filled by Angelus._

_“Oh, God, Sire!” Spike groaned as his body adjusted to the sweet invasion._

_Angelus growled as Spike’s internal muscles continued to contract around him._

_“Sire, please, move!” Spike was so out of it that he feared if Angelus didn’t move he was going to die from the arousal that was held in check by the leather strap._

_Hearing the urgency in his childe’s voice, Angelus wrapped the boy’s thighs around his waist and struck up a steady pounding rhythm that bumped Spike’s prostate on occasion so much that it was distracting for the blonde. The younger vampire whimpered and growled as his maker repeatedly kept him on the edge of the precipice._

_“God, boy, you’re tight. Every time, you’re so tight,” Angelus said through his own growls and groans as he pushed faster and harder with his thrusts causing Spike to cry out and claw his nails down his back._

_“Sire, please! I need to cum, please!” Spike begged, whimpering softly. He couldn’t last much longer at the rate Angelus was going._

_Angelus reached between them and freed the blonde’s painful erection from the leather strap. He leaned over the body under him and bit down into the neck of his childe, shooting cold dead seed inside his boy. “Come!” Angelus commanded._

_Spike roared as his orgasm volleyed through his body, ending up cold and wet on both his and his Sire’s stomachs._

_Angelus collapsed over his childe and, after a moment, rolled over on his side, pulling out of Spike’s body. He pulled the blond against him and caressed his shivering body. The younger vampire purred contently as he nuzzled against his Sire before falling asleep._

**************************

**_Spike’s Crypt_ **

Angel was still watching Spike sleep when his mind refocused on his surroundings. He was in his childe’s home helping the blonde heal. The vampire beside him was the biggest pain in his ass in the last century, but also his greatest achievement.

Spike wasn’t dimwitted and insane like Drusilla, nor was he a sociopath like Penn. He really couldn’t classify Lawson since he wasn’t around the ensign enough to teach him how to be a vampire. But Spike, he had taught the boy how to be what he was, and to revel in it, to take pleasure from it.

Angelus had spent twenty years trying to break Spike, to beat him down, to make him work harder than any childe or minion at being worthy of Sire’s attention. Spike was by far his strongest childe, even if he was impulsive. Through it all, the blonde had kept a conscience, his sense of self and his human feelings, even though he was a soulless demon.

Angel begrudgingly respected Spike for some of those traits. Angelus was pure evil who lived to see others at his mercy. Those very traits that Angel respected, Angelus had used against the younger vampire until Spike figured out how to hide them from the world and be what his Sire taught him to be.

Angel ran his fingers through Spike’s hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. He moved out from under Spike carefully so that he didn’t awaken the healing vampire. Once he was on his feet, he grabbed the mug from the nightstand and climbed up the ladder to the upper level to heat up some more blood.

Angel opened Spike’s refrigerator and got a bag of A-negative. He ripped the bag open with his teeth and poured the contents into the mug he had used before. He shifted into his demon and used the fangs to cut into his wrist. Holding his bleeding wrist over the mug, he let as much flow out as he dared before licking the wound closed. He put the mug in the microwave and turned it on.

When the mug was hot enough, Angel climbed back down to the lower level of the crypt and set the mug on the nightstand. He sat down beside Spike and examined the healing wounds which were starting to close from when Spike drank his first mug of blood. _This mug ought to do the trick_ , Angel thought. He found a little-known ticklish spot on his childe’s body and teased it.

Spike growled softly in his sleep as he felt something tease his flesh. When it refused to desist, he opened one eye and glared at Angel. His Sire gave him another genuine smile before holding a mug of hot blood in his view.

“Why are you smilin’, mate? I thought you were the patent-holder on brooding,” Spike was slightly amused. Then a thought hit him. “Oh no, you didn’t shag anything until you were deliriously happy did you?” This was the second genuine smile that Angel had given him. Angelus smiled, Angel brooded. _He couldn’t be Angelus._

Angel chuckled softly and shook his head. “No. I still have my soul, Spike. I’m just glad you’re recovering well.” He handed the mug of blood over to the blonde, once the man was sitting upright against the pillows.

“Oh?” Spike’s scarred brow shot up. “Are you dying to get away from me? Not bear my company anymore?” Spike pouted before he took a sip of the blood. He was just waiting for the pouf to abandon him again.

Angel’s brow furrowed at that. _Spike thinks I just stayed here until he was awake to leave him?_ “No, nothing like that, Spike. If I wanted to leave you, I would have left before I let Buffy know I was here to bitch her out over her treatment of you tonight.”

“So I should feel grateful that you had a lover’s spat with your ex-honey over me?” Spike didn’t mean to actually voice that thought. Even he flinched from his own question. He blinked up at Angel to see his reaction.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Spike?” Angel didn’t know where this animosity came from. He knew that he and Spike had had their differences over the years and some of them had come to nearly trying to do the other in. Didn’t the Sire-claim mean anything to the blonde?

“Nothing, Peaches. You know that I’ve had worse than this,” Spike pointed to the healing wounds on his person. “So why did you stay?” _. . . Just to abandon me, again?_

“I stayed because . . .” Angel started to say.

What could he tell Spike, the truth? That he had stayed because he was worried about him? That he had stayed because he didn’t want to leave him when he needed his Sire? That he had stayed because of the Sire-claim that he himself had renewed drew him closer to Spike than he had ever remembered? That the claim had brought a lot of buried feelings to light. It had awoken Angelus deep inside him and with that a craving to reclaim his boy completely? That he wanted to own him again, only now, with less of an iron fist? That he had profound emotions for Spike, emotions that ran even deeper than those he had felt for him before? That Buffy had been, at first, a diversion after years of loss, that he had fallen in love with her and in her arms he could for a moment forget what he was and how he mourned for the loss of Spike and Drusilla because Darla had kicked him out of their life? He didn’t think his childe would accept any of those reasons.

Spike was looking at Angel expecting an answer but none came. There was no ‘I worry about you’, there was no ‘I miss you and wanted to be here of my own free will,’ there was nothing. Angel was here because the Sire-claim demanded it of him that was all. Spike wanted to cry though he wouldn’t, not now in front of Angelus, his Sire. For all Angel’s blustering that he was different than his unsouled counterpart. To Spike, he would always be Angelus. In either incarnation, the vampire before him didn’t want William when Drusilla brought him home, he didn’t want Spike two years ago when he lost his soul, and other than to baby sit Buffy, Angel didn’t want him now.

Angel saw the pain flutter over Spike’s features at his silence and immediately regretted not saying anything at all. With the younger vampire’s emotions, came eternal love and devotion. His face fell at the sight of his childe trying to hold his emotions in check.

“It’s fine, Angel. You’ve left me before and I’ve managed to make it on my own all these years. Besides I’m used to you leaving me. You didn’t want me in the beginning and the only thing keeping you here now is your sense of duty,” Spike said dejectedly.

“How could you say that I didn’t want you?” Angel asked perplexed.

“Oi, come off it, Angel! You didn’t want me when Drusilla brought me to that hotel. You didn’t want me when we met again in Sunnydale. When you lost your soul, all you did was make my life a soddin’ hell. You knew damn well that with just one drink from you I could have healed twice as fast. But no, you just enjoyed seeing me stuck there in a bloody wheelchair as you swooped in and took Dru away from me. All she ever wanted was her precious Daddy back and there you were . . . Back in our lives like nothing happened. You purposely forgot about me . . . sentenced me to a chair while you traipsed around Sunnyhell. Then, when I came back after Dru finally left me, do you really think that whole speech about me being love's bitch was an act? Didn't you even listen to any of it? _You_ claimed me Angelus I was _yours_ for twenty years and then _you_ just up and left us . . . without so much as a word or a reason. You left me to take care of Dru without even saying _goodbye_! You abandoned us and I don't know when or if ever I will forgive you for that. So, don't come back here and tell me you wanted me because based on everything I've seen and felt through the years, Angel, your words are nothing more than just that -- bloody words, words that don't mean anything. I'm just a tool for you, an end to _your_ means . . . _just_ like Lawson. That's why you re-established the Sire-claim, isn't it? So, you can control me? So, I can do your bloody will and be nothing more than someone to spy on that ignorant blonde bint of a Slayer for you!”

Angel took a step back from the sudden anger in his childe. It was as if he had waited all this time to finally lay into him. For a moment, he couldn’t speak as his mind processed all that Spike had said. He knew there was always a rivalry between them. Their lives centered on violence and destruction, whether it was toward each other or the people around them. But, the seething animosity coming from the blonde was unexpected. He had never known Spike to hate him before.

“Is that what you really think?” Angel was bewildered. His voice was a dead calm. “That I abandoned you? That I don’t want you? The Sire-claim means more to me than you think it does Spike. I wouldn’t have renewed it if I didn’t want the connection with you again. Yes, I did it for an outwardly selfish reason, but I did it because I wanted . . . I wanted a part of my childe back.”

“The bloody hell you did, it’s always been about you, Angel. Everything has always been about you. Darla, Drusilla, _me_ , now the Slayer. I’ve given you everything I was and you walked away from me.” Spike was near tears with a mix of anger, frustration and hurt. “Just leave, it’s what you’re good at isn’t it? I’ll watch after your bloody ex for you.”

“No, Spike,” Angel growled. He pounced on the bed, straddling Spike’s waist and held the smaller vampire down with his size. His hands were clamped around Spike’s biceps almost painfully. “I’ve listened to your outburst. Now you’ll listen to me before I leave. And I hope to whatever higher power you believe in that and you think hard about what I tell you. You got me, boy?”

Angel had used his Sire voice, which brooked no argument. Spike glared at him through blue-gold eyes as his demon was trying to shift. After a few minutes of inward struggle, he nodded and kept silent.

Angel’s voice returned to its soft burr when he spoke again. “You are my childe, Spike. I stayed with you tonight because I was concerned about you. I didn’t mean to abandon you when I got my soul. It wasn’t my choice to leave, either. Darla banished me from the family. In her eyes, I was tainted and she wanted nothing to do with me. She made me leave and refused to let me see you and Dru. When I came back to you in China, she banished me again, because of my soul. I don’t know what she told you but that’s the truth. Even if you did forgive me, I don’t think I would want you to. As for the Sire-claim, I will use it as I choose because it’s a link to _you_. It’s a tie between us that cannot be broken.”

Angel stared down at Spike as he watched his childe’s eyes shift back to their human color and soften at his words. He eased the grip on the blonde’s arms and sat back when he saw that some of what he said had gotten through, if not all of it. Angelus growled inside to take possession of his boy but Angel tamped the urge down. He wouldn’t take Spike this way. Not when they were both seriously angry and hurt by the other.

Mentally brushing Angelus aside, Angel leaned down over Spike and slowly laved his tongue over the aforementioned claim mark sending a violent shudder through the vampire under him. Even though he tried not to, Spike purred at the pleasurable sensation that ran through him.

Angel pulled back and barely brushed his lips against Spike’s ear. “You are _not_ just an end to a means, my childe, you never were,” he whispered.

The whispered words tugged at some unnamed thing deep inside the younger vampire so hard that he had to squeeze his eyes against the pain. Spike was deathly still when Angel let him go and removed his weight from his body and the bed. He couldn’t look at his Sire even as he felt the chocolate eyes boring into him. So, it was a surprise when he heard Angel’s voice from across the room in the area where the ladder to upper level was.

“I’ll mix the other bags of blood with my own. It should be enough to help you heal and then some. Think about what has happened tonight and what I’ve said. If you ever . . . you know where to find me,” Angel told him. He was about to climb up to the ground level of the crypt when he stopped. Not looking at Spike he said, “Watch out for her, Spike, please, for me?”

Spike didn’t say anything. Angel’s departure went ignored. He lay in the bed close to catatonia. His mind was a slideshow of everything that had happened since he went to L.A. to recover the Gem of Amara. It all left him confused and wanting something beyond his reach. When he finally spoke, it was to an empty crypt. “Who will watch out for me?” he sobbed.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 7: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 7)_

**_Los Angeles, Angel’s Apartment_ **

Doyle walked down the stairs, leaned against the wooden railing and watched Angel as he worked out against a punching bag. His boss had clammed up and closeted himself in his ‘prison cell’ ever since the Slayer’s departure. Cordelia may be used to the brooding nature of the vampire. As she had said, ‘Angel broods, the world is great; Angel gets happy, and the whole universe was out of alignment.’ Okay so maybe, she didn’t say those _exact_ words, but then it was Doyle’s mind remembering all this, not Cordy’s.

Doyle watched the way Angel was punching the bag. It was as if he held a grudge against it instead of merely working off steam. The Brachen demon figured he had better speak up before Angel hauled of and kicked or punched the bag from the chains that were hanging it into the next century, which really wasn’t that far off if someone bothered to look at the calendar lately.

Doyle sat down on the short flight of stairs and watched Angel. “Hey,” he greeted. He waved his hand at the abused punching bag. “Is this a private catharsis or can anyone watch?”

“What do you want?” Angel said with an air of resignation while he continued to punch the bag.

Doyle raised his eyebrows at his boss’ tone. “Well, there’s a girl upstairs who’s not quite sad enough to cry in my arms, but keep up the dark cloud and I might get lucky,” he encouraged.

“I just need some time.” Angel punched the bag even harder.

Doyle nodded in understanding. “Believe me, I know. Last time I saw my ex, she was around for five minutes and I was a wreck for days. Amazing how they can do that to you.”

Angel quit punching and stilled the bag with his hands as his mind flashed through that day. “Buffy was here for more than five minutes.”

“Okay, ten,” Doyle amended. “But who’s counting?”

Angel sighed and trudged over to the sofa to sit down. Doyle stood up from the stairs and joined him. “Actually, she was here for a whole day and night.”

He’d had Buffy here a whole 24 hours. They talked, they fought the Mohra demon. They talked some more. Then, he was right there kissing her without any fear of losing his soul. He had her in his grasp after nearly two years of beating themselves up with this Romeo-and-Juliet romance, complete with all the scenes. There was no soul to worry about. They had cleared the kitchen table during their kissing session and then moved to the bed, undressing each other all the way there with her Slayer thighs still somehow remaining around his waist until they hit said bed. Before he could think about what else happened that day, Doyle broke into his thoughts.

“Alright. One of us has been drinking and I’m sad to say, it hasn’t been.”

Angel wiped his face of workout sweat with a towel and stood back up. He looked down at Doyle almost accusatory. “Who are the Oracles, Doyle? Why didn’t you tell me about them before?”

That confused Doyle. “The Oracles? Who told you about the Oracles?” He had never told a soul about the messengers of the Powers That Be. How did Angel know about them?

“The first time the Mohra demon attacked it got away,” Angel told him.

“What first time?” Doyle was really confused now. The only time he had seen the demon was an hour ago in Angel’s office where the vampire promptly killed it without hesitation.

Maybe erasing everyone’s memory wasn’t such a good idea after all. Angel gave an exasperated sigh. “Look, I tracked it; I killed it, some of its blood mixed with mine. It made me mortal. That’s when you took me to see the Oracles to find out what it meant.”

Angel remembered all too vividly. The blood made him human again. He felt the heat in his blood rise to that of a normal human even before he felt the first thump-thump of his heart beating in his chest. For 200+ years he had thought his body was a hollow shell that only needed blood to stay mobile. Then, all of a sudden, he was mortal again.

He had thought that first thing he wanted to do as a human again was being with Buffy and he had. He truly had. But, then he was with her and Spike kept creeping into his mind. After that it all went down hill. When he was finally in his bed with Buffy surrounding him, Spike made his crashing entrance into his mind and . . . then it went from exhilarating to _bad_. It got even worse when . . .

That can’t be right. Doyle shook his head in denial. “No, see, I’m going to remember a trip to the netherworld of eternal watching. That’s just not something that happens every day.”

Angel sat down in an adjacent chair. “The Oracles told me that I was released from my duty. Buffy and I were together until – we realized it couldn’t be. We don’t belong to ourselves. We belong to the world, fighting. So I went back to the Oracles and I asked them to turn back the clock . . . as though the day had never happened.”

So many things had happened on that day, things that were said, things that were done. Buffy’s reaction when he had said Spike’s name. Her reaction when the blonde had shown up in the sewer after Angel was cut down by the Mohra. Buffy and Spike arguing over him and he was in too much pain to break it up. He had never had so much pain as a vampire and he had been one for so long. He couldn’t remember the blinding pain humans suffer when nearly gutted by a sword.

Doyle was shocked to say the least. “Human? You were a real live flesh-and-blood human? And you and Buffy . . .? You had the one thing in your unnaturally long life that you wanted and you gave it back?!”

“Maybe I was wrong?” Angel inquired.

“Or maybe Cordelia was right about you being the real deal in the hero department. See, I would have chosen the pleasures of the flesh over duty and honor any day of the week. I just don't have that strength,” Doyle said.

That’s why he had turned back the day. Oh there were various reasons. But one, in particular, when Spike had called him ‘Sire’ and he had denied it because he was human now. He wasn’t a 240-(give or take)-year-old vampire anymore. The look in Spike’s eyes nearly crushed his newly beating heart. He didn’t have the strength to handle that look. Even with the angry words exchanged between them in the crypt after Spike awoke from his injuries.

He could take Spike’s loathing, his insults, the ridiculous names Spike chose to call him and his boy’s anger. But the look in his eyes when Angel had told him that he was no longer his Sire. He knew he had lost his beautiful boy forever at that very second. He hadn’t had the strength to cope with that for the rest of his days.

After a moment everything else that Doyle had said seeped into his mind. Something about not having the strength to do what he did. “You never know your strength until you’re tested.”

Doyle scoffed at that. “Come on, you lived and loved and lost and fought and vanquished inside a day, and I'm still trying to work up the courage to ask Cordy out for dinner, not to mention the part about telling her that I'm half demon.” He stopped and thought about it for a moment. “That should probably come first, huh?"

Angel shrugged. He was trying to figure out his own personal life now. He couldn’t give advice on Doyle’s. “Well, the Oracles said something bad is coming. ‘Soldier of Darkness ushering in the end of days’ kind of bad.”

If it ever came to that, Angel hoped he and Spike would have worked through the worst of their relationship and were fighting on the same side. Spike seemed to have been holding a century-long grudge with that abandonment issue. Even though he had taken back one day, he wished . . . There was so much he regretted in raising Spike, making him a vampire wasn’t one of them though.

Angel never expected Spike to show up that day in the sewer. Somehow Spike knew he was in trouble. Maybe he felt the pull of the Sire-Claim when his blood was mixed with that of the demon. Either way, his boy had put aside his anger and was there cradling his head on the black denim-clad lap. If Angel closed his eyes, he could still feel the strong leg muscles pillowing his head and Spike’s long fingers stroking through his damp hair as he lay shuddering in pain.

That’s how Buffy had found them and it made her livid. Angel inwardly cringed when he remembered her asking Spike why he was even there and Spike’s answer of ‘He’s my Sire. I’m all he has left.’ That was when Angel had denied being his Sire. Because he was human, and as such he could no longer have hope that he and Spike would come to an understanding about each other. He didn’t want to tarnish his boy with his humanity, not if it meant the loss of connection between them, no matter how weak it was now.

“So much for the security of long-term savings bonds, huh?” Doyle was doing his best to be humorous.

Angel came out of his thoughts at the Brachen’s voice. “I feel something coming, Doyle. I don't know what, but I know we're a part of it.”

Doyle had a determined expression on his face. “Well, if it’s a fight they want,” he turned worried eyes to Angel, “can’t someone else give it to them?” Angel smiled at the hurt puppy look Doyle was giving him. “It seems unfair, you know? You gotta save all the helpless types around here and now you've got to fight the apocalypse as well?”

Angel stood up and shrugged. “It's all the same thing. Fight the good fight – whichever way you can.”

Doyle stood up and walked over to the stairs. “Tell you what, you fight,” he looked back at Angel before ascending, “and I’ll keep score.” Doyle’s answer was hearing the punching bag being pounded on.

**************************

**_Sunnydale University, Buffy and Willow’s Dorm_ **

Willow looked around the room. She heard Amy the rat squeak away in her cage and Buffy softly snoring while she slept. Willow slipped out of bed silently and opened the trunk at the bottom of her bed. She sifted through its contents with a small flashlight, after getting what she needed; she carefully slipped out of her room and down the hall to the community bathroom.

In the bathroom, Willow sat in the center of a circle surrounded by red candles, with an incense censer, bowl in front of her, a goblet of sorts, and three trays containing herbal ingredients.

When the preparations were finished, Willow began to chant, “Harken all ye elements, I summon thee now.” She dropped something into the bowl in front of her. “Control the outside, control within. Land and sea, fire and wind. Out of my passions, a web be spun. From this eve forth, my will be done. So mote it be.”

At the end of the chant she poured the goblet into the bowl. A flicker of electricity made a connection between her and the candles and all the little tongues of flame rose higher, signifying the spell's success. Willow gathered her items and went back to her room. After returning the items to her trunk, she went back to sleep.

The next day, Willow didn’t have any pressing matters so she stayed behind when Buffy left. She sat cross-legged on her bed with a myriad of objects around her. She had tossed and turned all night, excited to see if her Will-Be-Done spell had worked. She took a calming breath, took up a hand mirror and said, “It is my will that my heart be healed. Now.”

She pouted when nothing happened and set the mirror down. She held her favorite spell book as her next object and said, “I will that this book speak its words to me.” She sighed again when still nothing happened. She put the book down and picked up a bent Q-Tip. “I will that this Q-Tip gets . . . unbendy . . . ?” She was near tears when still nothing happened. Before she could think of letting the crying commence there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Willow called out. She knew that after the Spike incident, she shouldn’t just invite anyone in like that, but it was broad daylight and as far as she knew Angel had the Ring of Amara. She didn’t see him coming to see her in the present to near future.

Giles entered the room, looking slightly worried. He closed the door, then cleaned and set his glasses on his face.

“Giles, what are you doing here?” Willow asked surprised to see the Watcher in her dorm room.

“I’m . . . a bit concerned about you, actually,” Giles stammered over his words.

Willow’s eyebrows shot up at that. If Giles knew about her actions last night, with the drinking and dancing and possibly insulting her friends. “Did Buffy tell you about the beer, ‘cause . . .?”

“Uh, Buffy didn’t tell me anything,” Giles said confused by what Willow was alluding to.

“Oh, well . . . forget the beer part, then,” Willow said distractedly. The less he knew the less she’d have to explain.

“Happily. I came because we had an appointment the other day . . .” Giles started to admonish her.

“Oh! Right, right . . . the truth spell,” Willow could have kicked herself for missing any appointments. But frankly, she hadn’t been feeling up for anything since finding out Oz had left her for good and wasn’t returning anytime in the foreseeable future. She really didn’t mean to miss a meeting she had with Giles. “Why did you want a truth spell for Spike again?”

“Yes, well, um . . . I want to be sure that he is on the up-and-up with Angel and not tricking us into anything. Angel’s assertion that Spike is being curtailed by his will as Sire is something for me to research into further and until I can garner enough time for that activity, I need to know we aren’t falling into any traps laid out by William the Bloody himself,” Giles explained.

He looked down at the young witch and sat on the edge of the bed. “Willow . . . I know that you’re going through a very difficult time . . . with Oz leaving . . . But, shirking your responsibilities--”

“But . . . I didn’t – shirk,” Willow cut him off trying to explain her actions. She was grieving, she wasn’t shirking! “I . . . did the research, and I picked up the motherwort, I just forget the doing the spell part.”

“Well, that isn’t like you at all,” Giles said. He understood grieving and pain, but he never once placed them before his responsibility to his Slayer. Knowing that his Slayer was unique in having an inner circle of friends that knew of her calling, he also had her friends’ lives in his hands.

Willow pouted. “I know. I-I’ve been off. I-I even tried to do a spell last night, to have my will done. I was hoping it would be a quick fix to make me feel better. But it just went ka-blooey,” she said, raising her hands in exaggeration.

“A spell?” Giles was thrown a bit by that. Here was Willow telling him that she was responsible and she tried to do a spell in her distraught condition? “I don’t think it’s wise for you to be doing that alone right now. Your energy’s too unfocused.”

Willow took that as an insult. “Well, that’s not true,” she said indignantly, jumping off the bed away from him. “I said I was off, not incompetent.”

Giles sighed and stood up. “I only meant that you’re grieving, and it might be wise if you took a break from doing spells without supervision,” he advised in a calmer voice.

“So I get punished ‘cause I’m in pain?” Willow asked even more incensed. Giles was telling her she was unfocused and couldn’t hold her own? What the hell did he know?

“It’s not punishment, Willow. I’m only saying this because I--” Giles started to say.

“Oh, you care,” Willow cut him off in her troubled behavior. “Yeah. Everybody cares. Nobody wants to be inconvenienced. You all want me to take the time and go through the pain, as long as you don't have to hear about it anymore.”

“No, that’s not fair,” Giles countered.

“Isn’t it? ’Cause I’m doing the best I can and it doesn’t seem to be enough for you guys,” Willow whined.

“And I see how you could feel that way, I do--” Giles countered again.

“No, you don’t see. You say that you do, and I wish you’d see more clearly, maybe the emotional pain of others wouldn’t drift by,” Willow cut him off again. Her eyes took on a strange blue gleam as she spoke the words.

Giles removed his glasses, suddenly finding his vision a bit blurred. “Um . . . oh, sorry . . . um, sorry. P-perhaps I’d better be going. Let’s um, let’s talk about this later,” he said before stumbling his way to the door.

Giles left Willow’s room and walked down the hall in a bit of a daze, accidentally running into a student along the way. “Oh! I’m sorry. So sorry,” he apologized. He put his glasses back on, quite confused with what was happening.

**************************

**_Spike’s Crypt_ **

The blonde vampire sat in an easy chair he’d salvaged when he first went hunting for furniture. He played with the small ring with his fingers. It was a man’s ring, white-gold band with the double-A insignia on the crest of it. He had seen the ring before. His Sire always kept it with him. He rarely wore the ring, choosing to wear the claddagh ring of his home country. But Angelus had always kept the ring hidden, out of the reach of Darla’s prying eyes and Drusilla’s curiosity.

Spike recognized the ring. He had given it to Angelus in Tuscany when the Sire-claim was still fresh. It shouldn’t have surprised him that Angel had kept it all these years, but it did. He had thought his Sire abandoned him, even hated him without a care.

When he woke up he found the ring clutched in his fist and couldn’t recall where he had gotten it. He consciously hadn’t seen his Sire since Thanksgiving. For a split second he wondered if Angel had come back and given him the ring, but then dismissed the idea as ludicrous since it’s a two- to three-hour drive to LA and the older vampire wouldn’t have had time for it.

Spike shrugged. For now, he pocketed the ring in his jeans' pocket and sat back down. It wasn’t that he had been brooding. William the Bloody did not brood. Brooding was Angel’s thing. _Liar._ Okay, so Spike was brooding. But he felt he had a good reason for it. He just couldn’t figure out how he had gotten a hold of what was supposed to be one of Angel’s prized possessions.

Last he knew, Angel was safeguarding the little gem from everyone and everything. In some distant dream-like memory, he remembered being in the sewers with his Sire who was wounded and in human pain, with his head cradled on his lap. He remembered a vague image of Angel giving him the ring and saying that he was no longer his Sire. The very thought that he could lose his Sire was unsettling. As much as he had cursed the ponce for having a soul, he never considered it a possibility that he would lose Angel as his Sire.

Spike thought back to their last words to each other, said in anger and then the vague dream. God, he wanted to kick himself. He wished Angelus were around to beat the brainlessness out of him. He had his Sire with him willingly. His Sire had stayed with him, was willing to stay with him, and he had rejected that because of what? A century of pain over being abandoned? It was a valid reason, but he had wished for Angel’s company for so many years. He finally had it, even if it came at the price of the Slayer and he turned Angel away. Spike’s head fell back against the chair as he thought of a way to fix what he had done.

**************************

**_Willow and Buffy’s Dorm_ **

Willow played with Amy-the-rat on her bed while Buffy flipped through a magazine. The redhead was still depressed over Oz and now with Giles as well for how he had offhandedly treated her emotions on the subject. She was lamenting this to Buffy.

“I mean, I'm going through something. I just don't see why he was getting down on me,” Willow complained as she teased Amy-the-rate with a small ball of yarn.

Buffy shrugged. “Giles just worries. Spells can be dangerous. It doesn't mean he thinks you're a bad witch.”

“I am a bad witch,” Willow pouted.

“No, you're a good witch,” Buffy corrected her friend with a cheery smile. She was trying to lift Willow’s spirits with little success.

“I'm not kidding anyone. If I had any real power, I could have made Oz stay with me,” Willow went on as if Buffy had never spoken.

“Will, you wouldn't have wanted him to have stayed--” Buffy said compassionately. 

“And I didn't have the guts to do the spell on Veruca, and my "I Will It So" spell went nowhere,” Willow continued to pout. “The only real witch here is fuzzy little Amy.”

Buffy put the magazine down and moved over to Willow’s bed. She put her arm around her friend. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself, Will.”

“She’s got access to powers I can’t even invoke,” Willow explained.

Just then the phone rang. Buffy gave her friend an apologetic look and went over to answer it. “Hello? Uhh. I’ll be right there.” Buffy hung up and turned to Willow. “That was Giles, he wants me to track Spike down and ask him to go over there.” Buffy stopped in getting her stakes. “You know, I don’t see why I’m the one that has to go out searching for him. He’s not my responsibility. Angel made it very clear that Spike was _his_ responsibility.”

“A-and you’re leaving? Now?” Willow asked hurt at the abandonment her friend was doing.

“It’s not like I _asked_ Angel to show up here and _help_ me. And what does he do? He brings _Spike_ into it. Like I need that bleached menace protecting me. I’m the Slayer. I should need protection _from_ him not _by_ him. What the hell is Angel thinking anyway, coming to _my_ town and dictating, once again, what I should and shouldn’t be doing?”

Willow watched her friend. “Angel has him under control with that whole ‘I-am-your-Sire’ thing, Buffy. I don’t see why you are so worked up over this. Angel sent him back here to help you so there’s no need to rush out this instant is there, ‘cause I figured since I’m kinda grievy, we could, uh, you know, have a girl’s night.”

“And the nerve of Giles keeping the secret that Spike was here to help,” Buffy’s tirade continued. “And the way Giles just _told_ Angel I was the one that tied Spike up, like I was the one that had a hand in it.”

“Um, Buffy, you _were_ the only one that had a hand in tying Spike up,” Willow reminded her. “I just said that he helped me with a vampire and Giles just told him not to eat humans in his house, _you_ tied him up.”

“Whose side of this are you on, Willow?” Buffy shot the question at her angrily. “Spike is a murderer.”

“Yes, I get that he’s a vampire. But Angel has him under control,” Willow said confidently.

“Oh, for crying out loud, Angel’s in L.A., what the hell does he know what Spike does here in Sunnydale?” Buffy asked, her anger not abating. “I’m sorry, Will. I can't hang out with you until I get Spike back to Giles you know that. Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”

Willow shrugged. “I don't see the big deal. He's probably just sitting in his crypt waiting for Angel to show up to rekindle old flames.” Her eyes took on a strange blue gleam as she spoke the words.

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel’s Office_ **

Angel had tried to get some semblance of work done all day and by the look of his desk he had very little to show for his accomplishment thus far. His thoughts of Spike had kept him preoccupied. He wanted so badly to go to Sunnydale and make amends. He wanted to tell Spike about the day he had the Powers That Be take back. Well, maybe not all of it, but the parts that were important in Angel’s mind.

Angelus started making an appearance in his mind again. The unsouled part of himself was getting more obstinate about going to Sunnydale and reclaiming his boy completely. _Now_! He tried to ignore it at first. He denied that his demon ruled his actions but the more Angelus wore on, the more Angel started to agree with him. He needed to see Spike if for nothing else than to get a lot of things off his chest.

When Angelus growled at his counterpart to take some action, Angel felt an inner tug, a deep need to see Spike. He didn’t care about the consequences of seeing Buffy again; he just wanted to finally clear the air with his boy. With that decision made, he got to his feet and was out the door searching for Cordelia and Doyle to let them know he’d be gone.

Angel found his two co-workers arguing over how best to extract money from clients. Cordelia was adamant about her views that sending them invoice after invoice until they pay up would work. Doyle tried telling her that what she was doing was sending junk mail and that no matter what she thought the rules of society were _defaulting_ on said payment was another rule of this great country.

Angel walked in the doorway as he shrugged on his coat. “Guys…?” When he didn’t receive an acknowledgement from the bickering pair, he tried again, “Guys!” They shut up and stared at him. “I’m going to be gone for a while, a few days at most, are you two going to be okay while I’m gone?”

“A few days? Where are you going? What if there’s a vision and the apocalypse is coming?” Doyle asked.

“Yes, a few days. I need to go see someone. If there’s a vision or an apocalypse call my cell and I’ll be back,” Angel told them and then left.

Doyle and Cordelia stared after him confused. “Well, where do you think he’s going?” Cordelia asked.

“I don’t know, Princess,” Doyle answered.

**************************

**_Xander’s Basement_ **

Willow was pacing back and forth, still irate that Buffy had left her to go in search of Spike for Giles. So here she was at Xander’s house in his basement voicing her opinion of her inconsiderate friend.

“I mean, I’m going through something here. You’d think every once in a while Buffy would make best friends a priority,” Willow whined.

“Well, Will, Giles just need to be sure that Spike is not going to be a threat that we all need to be worried about. If we find out he’s under control, great and ‘welcome to the team’. Although, Spike doesn’t seem to be a team-playing sort, does he?” Xander explained.

“So Spike's more important than me. I get it,” Willow pouted.

“It’s not a question of importance. He just wants to get one worry out of the way, and Spike running around Sunnydale seemingly unchecked is a worry. For all Giles knows, Angel was giving him a ruse with that ‘my sire-claim is keeping him from harming anyone’,” Xander tried to make Willow see the other side of the coin.

“Just once, I wish, Buffy would get her head out of her own little Slayer world and see what’s going on around her,” Willow said. Her eyes took on a strange blue gleam as she spoke those words.

**************************

**_Spike’s Crypt_ **

Spike was still sitting in his recliner contemplating his relationship with Angel when the Slayer stormed into his crypt without knocking. She stopped short on the stairs inside, shaking her head from the disorientation she suddenly felt and looked at Spike like she had just realized where she was.

“You know, Slayer . . . in civilized cultures, that's called trespassing,” Spike said wryly. “Has no one ever taught you not to barge into a vampire’s lair?”

“This isn’t a social call, Spike,” Buffy said disinterestedly.

“When is it ever . . .?” Spike asked as he rolled his eyes.

“Giles wants you to come to his place,” the Slayer told him.

“And why-oh-why has the great Watcher called on me?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know, he just asked me to find you and take you there. How the hell do I know what he wants from you? I don’t even need you, just as soon stake you now to get you out of my hair, really,” Buffy told him.

"But then Giles wouldn't be happy what with you delivering a big pile of dust to his door," Spike smirked as he rocked on the balls of his feet.

Buffy sighed in exasperation, “Oh for the love of God, let’s go. I got better things to do than stand here and banter with you.”

Spike still had that smirk on his face like he was just itching to goad her some more. Buffy narrowed her eyes at him and was determined to wipe the smirk off his face when she punched him in the nose. He yelled angrily and stared at her while massaging the pain away.

“You know what, Slayer,” he said nasally, “I really hate you. If it wasn’t for Angel I would drink you dry.”

“Well, it’s nice to know the feeling’s mutual, Spike. As for drinking me, I’d like to see you try,” Buffy spat back before grabbing the lapel of his duster and dragging him out of the crypt.

**************************

**_Giles’ Apartment_ **

Buffy and Spike barged in through front door. Once inside, Buffy tossed Spike around by the lapel of his duster to stand in front of her.

“Hey! Watch the leather!” Spike growled at her.

Buffy shook her finger at him. “One more word out of you, and I swear . . .” she started to reprimand the blond vampire.

“Swear, what?” he challenged her. “You’re not gonna do anything to me. You don’t have the stones.”

“Oh, I got the stones, you bleached freak. I got a whole bunch of . . .” she tried searching for a better phrase but came up empty, “. . . _stones_.”

“Yeah? You’re all talk, you blonde bint,” Spike shot back.

Buffy slammed Spike down into a chair. She couldn’t believe that Angel left her in the hands of this vampire who spent a year trying to kill her. What was he thinking? So far the blonde vampire had been nothing but trouble for her, arguing with her every step of the way. He wasn’t here to help her; he was here to be a royal pain in her ass.

“I don’t see why Angel wants to help you, it’s not like you deserve any help at all,” Spike sneered.

Giles came in from the bathroom to see who walked in. Upon seeing Buffy and Spike, he went over to a table to retrieve the book that had the truth spell in it. It seemed imperative that he know Spike was telling the truth about his involvement with Angel and that he was really here to help and not harm his Slayer.

“Oh, good, Spike, you’re here,” Giles said as he flipped through the pages of the book.

Spike turned to face Giles from his place in the chair where he was currently restrained. “Yes, I’m here, no thanks to her. Why didn’t you come for me yourself instead of sending the slaying goon. I’ll have you know, she roughed me up before she dragged me here.”

Giles rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you can manage a few bumps and bruises, Spike.”

Buffy stuck her tongue out at Spike when Giles said that. Spike glared back at her.

**************************

**_Xander’s Apartment_ **

“It’s just not fair,” Willow whined.

“Willow, I know it's hard to see it right now, but everything you're feeling is because of you and Oz. Not because of Buffy and me or anybody. But eventually you'll meet somebody else, and it'll be better,” Xander explained.

“Yeah, ‘cause most relationships are great and trouble-free. I don't think so. I think we're all doomed to badness,” Willow pouted.

“We're not doomed,” Xander told her.

“Oh, yeah? Let's-let's look at your bio. Insect Lady, Mummy Girl, Anya . . . You're a demon magnet,” Willow accused. Her eyes took on a strange blue gleam as she spoke the words.

“I was just trying to help,” Xander said in his own defense.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 8: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 8)_

**_Giles’ Apartment_ **

Buffy sat on the couch reading a magazine while Spike sat in the chair, only in chains this time. Giles walked around him, holding a bundle of burning herbs and was reciting an incantation from a book.

Spike looked between the unconcerned Slayer and the Watcher. He was uncomfortable. He always hated spells. He had memories of Drusilla’s spells always going awry, like the time she tried to make a snake dance with her and instead, she ended up sending the reptile to chase after Darla. Actually, it was quite comical. He had never seen Darla run so fast even with a mob chasing them. Angelus killed it with a mallet before it got to her though and then spent the next hour torturing Drusilla for what she did.

“You know . . . not too keen about this spell stuff. It tends to be a bit unpredictable,” Spike said uncertainly as he watched Giles.

“Yes, well, I don’t trust you enough to tell me the truth, so this is how it will be,” Giles told him and went back to reading the incantation.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Buffy set her magazine down and went to answer it. Upon opening the panel she found herself face to face, well face to chest with Angel standing before her in his duster.

“Angel . . .?” Buffy was surprised to see her ex-boyfriend so soon.

“Hello, Buffy. Have you seen Spike?” the dark vampire asked anxiously. He had to talk to his boy.

Buffy just stared at Angel like he was the second coming of Christ. He still looked good in her eyes. No flaw to be seen aside from the fact that he was standing in front of her and asking for Spike. What was the deal with Spike anyway? Giles wanted Spike, her ex-boyfriend wanted Spike. Was she wearing some kind of guy-repellent?

“Yeah, I’ve seen him, more than I would like,” was Buffy’s disinterested answer.

“I went by his crypt, but he wasn’t there, so I thought I’d check here,” Angel said.

Buffy’s answer to that was to hold the door open wider to reveal Spike chained up in a chair. Giles was walking around him with some type of burning herb and reading a book. Angel’s mouth dropped open in shock.

What was it with the Sunnydale crew? He had told them he had Spike under control, but it seems Giles didn’t want to believe that. Knowing how uncomfortable Spike was around magic, Angel pushed past Buffy and entered the apartment.

“Giles, what are you doing?” There was a slight edge to Angel’s voice.

Giles perked up and looked over his shoulder at the dark vampire with a look of surprise. He closed the book and put it down on the table and then snuffed out the burning herb. “Uh, Angel, I didn’t expect you to come back here. That is to say, not this soon,” Giles stammered.

Angel’s eyes became harder as he watched Giles fumble for an explanation. While he waited his eyes traveled to where Spike was chained. Angel’s eyes softened a bit when he took in his childe’s current situation.

“Well, childe, what have you done to get yourself shackled this time?” Angel asked nonchalantly. He wouldn’t think that Spike had agreed to being restrained this way, not that it hadn’t happened before, but that was another century and another life. What was going on?

“Peaches, you can ask the Watcher and the Slayer about this. Giles sent her after me to bring me back here and now I’m like this,” Spike told his Sire.

Angel turned his sights on his ex-girlfriend and her Watcher. “Well, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Angel, it’s not what you think--” Buffy started to explain.

“Really? Because, I see Spike restrained in chair with chains. I could have sworn I told you he was here to help you. How silly of me to have thought that the Scooby gang would not have believed me when I said I had him under control,” Angel told her.

“Now, see here, Angel,” Giles interjected. “Just because you say he was under your management doesn’t mean we should just let our guard down with him. He is a soulless vampire who has tried countless times to kill any one of us.”

“Well, I’m here now,” Angel said as he walked over to Spike and proceeded to free him, “So you can quit tying him up. Someone would think you two had a secret bondage fetish.”

Spike smirked at that as he got to his feet. He had to hand it to his Sire. He didn’t think the old man had it in him to make a comment like that in front of his sweet, innocent little Slayer.

“How are you wrists and ankles?” Angel asked absently as he rubbed away the chafe-marks around his childe’s wrists.

“Vampire healing, mate, I’ll be fine,” Spike assured him.

Angel looked into Spike’s eyes and nodded before releasing the blonde’s wrists. He looked around the small apartment. “Is there some place maybe you and I could talk privately?”

Both vampires looked to Giles for an answer. The Watcher motioned for them to go outside since his apartment was so small there would be no privacy at all. Angel nodded and led the way outside and sat one of the stone stairs. Spike followed him, closed the front door behind them and sat next to his Sire.

“So what did you want to talk about, Angel?” Spike asked as he reached in his coat for a pack of cigarettes to light one.

“It’s difficult to say where to start, but while I was with someone, you came to mind and I said your name out loud without realizing it. The person wasn’t too happy with me. Then I fought with a Mohra demon, it’s blood mixed with mine and it made me human for 24 hours,” Angel spoke slowly as if he were trying to find the right words.

“You were human for a day?” Spike asked completely surprised at the turn of events. “What happened?”

“I realized a few things and gave it up.” Angel was finding this even harder to voice than he ever imagined. “I fought the Mohra demon twice, because it had regenerated. It got me good in the gut while I was human. You showed up when I needed you the most and killed it. But, I was human and I gave you the a-chaoidh gaol ring as a keepsake.”

Spike fished around in his jeans pocket and produced the ring. “I wondered how I got this. It surprised me that you kept it all these years. I didn’t think I meant all that much to you.”

“Well, now you know the truth. I kept that ring as a reminder of you when I left,” Angel told him.

“I suppose now that you are no longer human and back to being your old broody self, you’ll want to have it back now,” Spike said as he held the ring out to his Sire.

Angel shook his head. “No. You should keep it.”

Spike’s face fell. His Sire no longer wanted the ring? He was being rejected yet again? “Why?” the blond asked, curiosity and hurt sparkling in his eyes.

Angel took the hand that held out the ring in his own, and used it to pull his childe close to him so he could look into his eyes. “Because, childe,” he began, “it will remind you that even though I am your Sire and you are my childe, you are so much more than that. You are now my companion, my accomplice and hopefully my friend. Keep the ring.”

“But . . .” Spike began. He had given the ring to his Sire as a symbol of devotion. Granted he wasn’t all that devoted over the last few years since meeting Angel again. But then he had been hurt and angry at Angel’s leaving and then Drusilla was sick and his Sire ignored the pull of the blood-bond to help her. He ended up kidnapping Angel then. He had to force his Sire to take his rightful place as head of their clan and heal his childe.

"Shh," Angel said, placing a finger to his boy's lips to silence him. "What more do you need to know?"

“Angel, I don’t think we’ll ever be friends,” Spike said. There was too much history between them to ever be friendly.

“Ah, Spike, you do keep me on my toes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Angel smirked.

**************************

**_Inside Giles’ Apartment_ **

Buffy was staring out the window watching Angel and Spike talk in the dark. The moon didn’t illuminate the courtyard well enough to see everything, only shadows. It looked like they were in deep discussion about something. Then she saw Spike reach into his pocket for . . . a ring? At least it looked like a ring . . . and presented it to Angel.

“What is he doing out there, proposing?” Buffy asked herself.

Then she saw Angel grab Spike’s hand and pull him closer until he was either kissing his cheek or whispering in his ear, she couldn’t tell which in the waning moonlight. What was going on out there? When were Spike and Angel ever close? Giles never let her read the Watcher diaries so she only knew the things he had told her when Spike was out to kill her. Back then, Angel and Spike didn’t seem quite this friendly with each other. So what made them talk to each other now?

**************************

**_Outside Giles’ Apartment_ **

Angel pulled Spike into his arms and hugged him. The blonde was sobbing quietly at his Sire’s confessions tonight. He never thought the older vampire had so much feeling for him. His undead heart felt constricted with pent up emotion.

“You were always my favorite. You know that, Will? It’s why I was so hard on you when you were a fledgling,” Angel whispered in his childe’s ear.

Spike sobbed hard and nodded against Angel’s chest. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. One minute they were talking like they normally do and the next he was sobbing like a baby while Angel held him. He didn’t know what prompted this turn of events. Spike took Angel’s face in his hands and kissed him lightly on the lips. He traced his tongue over their fullness before slipping inside to tease his Sire.

Angel was a bit surprised at the kiss, but only for a second before he returned it, opening his mouth and inviting Spike inside to explore the recesses. He moaned softly as his childe caressed his tongue in the most erotic way. He felt a frisson of lust that he hadn’t felt in years. He wanted to show his boy how he felt and as much as he would like to press Spike up against the wall and fuck him with everything he had inside to give, this was neither the time nor place. Angel sifted his fingers through the blonde hair and kissed Spike deeply before pulling away.

“Someday, Will. Someday when we’re together, I’ll show you what you mean to me,” Angel whispered as he kissed the younger vampire’s forehead and cheekbones.

Spike looked at Angel with pain in his eyes. “You’re going to leave me again?”

“No, Spike, I’m not leaving you,” Angel said solemnly. He reached into the pocket of his duster and pulled out a cell phone. “Here, take this,” he said as he handed the cell phone to Spike. “If you ever need me or want to talk, call me.” He brushed his fingers over his childe’s face, wiping a stray tear away.

Spike nodded and accepted the phone. He missed his Sire and to have another connection to him like this was more than he’d hoped for. He embraced the older vampire in a tight hug. Normally, they wouldn’t be this emotional with each other but they were. He was acting like a fledgling with his Sire even though he was 120+ years old. In an odd way he felt strange and comfortable with it at the same time.

Both vampires turned their heads at the sound of gravel crunching under feet. A few seconds later Xander and Anya made an appearance as they ran around the bushes. When Xander saw the figures of the pair outlined in the shadows, he brought himself up short and as a result, Anya ran straight into her boyfriend.

“Oh my God! Angel! Spike! You two scared the beejeezus out of me,” Xander said anxiously. His eyes darted back and forth between the two bloodsuckers noticing their close proximity to each other and tilted his head. “What’s going on between you two?”

“Never mind us, whelp, why are you and demon girl running like the hounds of hell are nipping at your feet?” Spike asked.

“I reserve the right to answer that question when I feel much safer inside a house,” Xander said.

Spike shrugged. He and Angel followed the boy and his girlfriend back inside the apartment after Anya and Xander burst through the front door. Giles and Buffy jumped to their feet at the suddenness. Once all four were inside, Xander pulled a bookshelf in front of the door.

“Board up the windows, and barricade the doors,” Xander told the room excitedly.

“What’s going on?” Giles asked as he put down the book he had been reading and was still holding.

“Demons. They keep coming and coming,” Anya panted, still catching her breath from the run she had just made with Xander.

Xander looked out of the curtained window and saw no one. “I think we lost them, but I couldn't see.” He turned to see Spike and Angel watching him with indifferent expressions on their faces. “So, why are Deadboy and Jr. all buddy-buddy? I thought they hated each other.”

“None of your business, whelp,” Spike told him.

“Would you quit calling me that?” Angel said at the same time.

“Xander, calm down, okay? If you lost them, that'll give us some time to figure this out,” Buffy said.

Spike took in Xander’s anxiety and turned to Angel as he gestured toward the group, “This is the crack team that foils my every plan? I am deeply shamed.”

Angel’s lips thinned in a tight line. It looked more broody on the outside, but inwardly he was trying to keep from chuckling at Spike’s comment.

Buffy looked toward the vampires and then back to her friends. “Spike's right. We really should get organized.”

Xander and Anya were still staring at Angel and Spike and noting how close they were together, one step away from hanging all over each other.

“Why are you together?” Anya asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. From what she got out of the group, Angel and Spike weren’t on the friendliest of terms.

The others stared at the vampires. Giles took in the strange closeness for the first time since Angel showed up. Buffy looked confused. She liked order. The order of things was that Angel was her vampire, and that he and Spike were enemies. It was good to have a common enemy. The togetherness that was them was just freaky.

Angel slung an arm around Spike’s shoulders and pulled his boy against his side. Spike huddled against his Sire. Everyone’s eyebrows shot up to their hairline at the small movement. Buffy rubbed her eyes to try and clear them, but the image of Angel and Spike arm-in-arm was still there in front of her.

Spike glanced up at his Sire skeptically. He didn't want to question Angel's actions and truthfully, there was something comforting about it, but it had been a century since he was under his Sire's arm willingly and without pretense. He was just as curious as the Scooby gang as to why Angel was here. Coming to tell Spike that he was human for a day and had taken it back because of what it did to their connection didn’t seem to be the only reason. He had spent the past hour with the dark vampire internally analyzing the other possible reasons for his appearance back in Sunnydale to see him, and as of yet had come up empty. He was in the dark like everyone else in the room.

“I’m reclaiming my boy,” Angel said before he realized what came out of his mouth. _Did I just say I was reclaiming Spike?_ Yes, he had thoughts of reclaiming Spike completely ever since he renewed the Sire-claim, but to openly voice it in front of Buffy, her friends _and_ her watcher? He figured his eyes were as wide as the others in the room, including Spike’s, whose eyebrows were lost somewhere in his hairline. He wondered if he would be staked now because they all thought he was evil.

Spike lost the ability to speak when he heard the words he never thought he’d hear come out of souled-Angel’s mouth. _Did I hear that right? He wants to reclaim me? He still wants me after all these years?_ He looked around at the others in the room to be sure he wasn’t the only one that heard Angel say he wanted him back. Sure enough, the Watcher, Slayer, Xander and demon girl all wore shocked looks on their faces.

“You what? Why?” Xander asked baffled.

“Two very excellent questions,” Giles pointed out as he focused on the two vampires.

Spike looked back at Angel for an answer and saw a possessive glimmer he hadn’t seen since 1897. If he ever drew breath, seeing the look in his Sire’s eyes now would have taken it. He wondered what Angel’s motive was for saying such a thing. Sure, he felt the pull of the Sire-claim, but he had passed it off as the connection reestablishing itself and locking into place. It was driving him crazy. But to hear Angel give voice to the very thing that the claim was urging him to do? There had to be a catch somewhere. His Sire didn’t just come out with these types of things.

“You’re what? When was he ever your boy?” Buffy asked, miffed at the idea that Angel wanted Spike and not her. Three years with a man – sorry, a vampire, and a souled one at that – and helping him recover from a hell dimension, and then having said vampire abandon her. A person would think she’d get a little more respect than this. Angel wants _Spike_? What the hell alternate dimension did she wake up in today?

“Angel and Spike? Together?” Xander shuddered at the image in his mind of the two vampires together.

“It’s a very common practice among vampires, Xander. They have no sexual hang ups,” Anya told her boyfriend. “Generally speaking, I have no problem with it, but doesn’t Angel have that curse?”

Spike chuckled at the bluntness that was Anya. He wondered how much she knew of the Sire-Childe relationship. Looking at Xander, he noticed the boy was looking green around the gills. Best to not push his luck and rub against Angel, the whelp was likely to vomit on the watcher’s living room floor.

“I can claim Spike without endangering the curse,” Angel defended himself. How he was going to pull that off was another matter entirely. Feeding was an orgasmic high for any vampire. But to feed from Spike his favored childe? Suddenly, he wondered to himself how he had lost his soul to Buffy. Of course the slip of a girl made him forget what he was, and made him think of what he could be in her eyes.

He knew now that was a lie. He could never be a man completely. He could do good because of the soul. But he was a demon. He always will be now. He’s accepted that. Shaking himself from his thoughts he noticed that everyone was looking at him curiously.

“How is that going to happen, Dead Boy?” Xander asked.

“Xander, will you _stop_ calling me that?” Angel growled. “There is too much history between Spike and I for _anything_ we do together to bring about ‘true happiness’. So, I don’t see where the danger is in claiming him.”

Why was he, a 240-something-year-old vampire, even bothering to explain himself to two young adults, an ex-vengeance demon and a watcher? Angelus must really be enjoying his uneasiness now. It felt like he was giving a motivational speech: ‘ _Kids, you cannot have sex or you’ll turn evil, **but** there are ways around that!_ ’ Yep, Angelus was enjoying this.

Without further explanation, Angel dragged Spike out of the apartment and shut the door firmly. Everyone stared at the closed door in shock. It was Buffy who spoke up when she asked, “Um, guys? What was that?”

“I’m fairly certain that I don’t know,” Giles replied. He couldn’t fathom why Angel would want to re-establish a link to Spike, whom for all appearances was his nemesis, childe or not.

Outside, Angel got as far as the top of the stairs in Giles’ courtyard. Angelus was howling inside him to claim his boy _now_. He couldn’t wait until Angel found a secluded spot to get it done. Instead, his demon taunted him with images of the past and whispers of how sweet William’s blood was, how smooth it slid down his throat, how it felt to have his body pressed against the younger vampire, the euphoria of being buried deep inside his boy with fangs and cock.

After that last image passed through his mind, Angel growled. He pulled Spike around in front of him. He pushed the blonde to the ground and followed after him. He laid over Spike’s body and ground his hips against his childe’s.

“Angel?” Spike asked in a voice caught between surprise and excitement.

When Angel ground himself against Spike’s pelvis even harder, the blonde’s cock jumped to attention and strained against the fabric of his jeans. Angel leaned closer and feathered his lips over his childe’s high cheekbone and the shell of his ear before nipping the lobe with blunt teeth causing Spike to moan and arch into him.

“That’s my boy. Move against me,” Angel encouraged as he grabbed his childe’s hips in his strong hands to help direct the rocking motions with his own.

Angel ground harder against Spike and groaned every time their cocks brushed against each other through the layers of fabric. Every fiber in his body was screaming to claim his boy and end the torment while waves of need crashed through his body. He could smell Spike’s arousal as it flooded the air around them.

“Ah, Will,” Angel moaned near Spike’s ear. “I want to be inside ye, surrounded by ye completely while I take ye and claim ye as my own again.”

Without realizing it, Angel’s Irish brogue came into his voice. The sound of it sent shivers skittering through Spike’s body, down his spine to his hardened shaft like lightning. Angel’s hand stroked along his childe’s hip, slowly along his ribs and up to pinch his boy’s nipple hard. The action sent a jolt of pleasure straight to Spike’s cock.

“Jesus, Angel,” the blonde hissed as his hips bucked up against his Sire’s jeans-covered arousal.

Spike felt Angel’s tongue slide lazily along the column of his throat to the base where his jugular was located. He continued to grind up against the older vampire’s rocking motions trying to gain more friction at the same time he was being driven arduously insane. His mind was still boggled that this was even happening. Angel was in the process of completing the Sire-claim as he lay there humping against a restrained hardness that he _never_ would have thought in a million years he’d feel again. When he felt Angel bite his neck with blunt teeth, he cried out, slammed his hips against the body on top of him and nearly came right then.

Angel was past words. He growled into Spike’s neck at the blonde’s reaction. Slowly shifting into his demon visage, he opened his mouth wider over the area he had just bitten and laved at the sensitive skin with his rough tongue. The action caused Spike to shudder under him.

When Spike felt Angel’s tongue lick his neck, the uncontainable shudder that past through him gave his boneless legs the momentum to pull up and wrap around his Sire’s waist and pull their groins together even more as he rocked harder against the dark vampire. He gripped Angel’s shoulders, wishing that clothes were not an issue so he could claw his nails over the other vampire’s back.

“My Will, so responsive,” Angel purred near Spike’s ear. His voice still carried the Irish brogue. When he felt Spike’s mind open to him, he – or Angelus, he wasn’t sure which – sent images to his boy of nights soaked in the blood of their victims, when they would return home, strip down and he would have his boy.

“Think about it, remember the way it was,” Angel’s voice continued to purr. “Having ye any way I wanted. Taking ye. Claiming ye. Hearing ye beg for more.”

**************************

**_London, 1884_ **

_Spike lay on the bed, positioned on his back with his wrists bound to the headboard. He looked down to see his legs spread out to their limits and Angelus between them. After the bath they had taken an hour earlier when they had returned from feeding, his Sire had enticed him into bed and maneuvered him into this position._

_Angelus had tied him up and went back to the washroom. After an inordinate amount of time he returned with the house’s previous owner’s shaving kit, a towel and some water. Now, his Sire was teasing him endlessly. He would shave a strip of pubic hair; rinse the stray hairs away and the lick the newly bare and sensitive skin, delighting in his childe’s squirming._

_Spike had tried to will his cock not to harden in the beginning of this but around the time Angelus moved to his balls he gave up. Currently he was trying to concentrate and keep his squirming to a minimum when the razor was near him. Between that and having the inane need to lose his fingers in his Sire’s hair whenever he licked his skin even though his hands were restrained. He was going mad._

_When the torturous shaving session was finished, Angelus cleaned Spike’s body of stray hairs and left the bed to clean and put the supplies away. He returned to the bed, moving back between Spike’s legs to admire his handiwork. He smirked when he saw that the straining cock protruding from his boy’s body leaked pre-cum._

_“Will, if you only knew how beautiful you looked right now, all clean and shaven,” Angelus purred as he licked his lips._

_Spike whimpered. Even if he hasn’t used his given name in a while, hearing Angelus call him that sent a new set of shivers racing down his spine. He watched his Sire intently through passion-glazed eyes. He vaguely heard Angelus call him beautiful. Spike thought he was wrong, seeing the older vampire sitting so close yet so far away, all dark and commanding. No, to Spike, Angelus was the beautiful one._

_Angelus leaned over Spike and took a budded nipple between his lips and nipped at it with his teeth. The sensations making his boy cry out and arch against him. He sat up and lifted Spike’s legs. In the dim light of the lantern beside the bed he watched as the water from the rinsing moments before trickled down to the puckered entrance._

_When the droplets gathered enough at the hole, Angelus carefully worked a finger inside the tight ring of muscle. He continuously moved the digit around in circles teasing all the sensitive areas he knew his boy had. He heard Spike suck in a breath as he arched off the bed._

_Angelus carefully worked a second, then a third finger inside before he turned his attention to another goal and searched out the bundled of nerves. Finding Spike’s prostate, he brushed his fingertips across it watching his boy shudder and whimper at his ministrations._

_He leaned down over Spike still working his fingers across the nub and whispered against the blonde’s ear. “What is it, Will? What’s on your mind?”_

_Angelus heard Spike’s sudden intake of unneeded breath and whimpered when his fingertips caressed the nub inside him. “How am I supposed to help ye if ye don’t tell me what it is?”_

_“Please, Sire,” Spike whimpered. He was rolling his hips against the other vampire to gain more friction, but every time he thought he was able to bear down and press Angelus’ fingers against his prostate, they slid away only to return and tease him again._

_“Please, what? Ye have to tell me,” Angelus purred as he moved his fingers in and out of Spike in time with the grinding of his hips against his boy’s pelvis._

_“I want your cock inside me, Sire. I need to feel you moving inside me, fucking me,” Spike panted as he tried unsuccessfully to move with Angelus’ fingers._

_Suddenly Angelus thrust his fingers deep inside and against the bundle of nerves smirking when he heard Spike cry out. “Is this what you want? My hard dick to do this to you?”_

_“God, yes! Bloody hell!” Spike moaned as he rocked with Angelus’ thrusting fingers._

_“God has nothing to do with this, my boy. I am yer God now,” Angelus growled low in Spike’s ear._

_Angelus removed his fingers much to Spike’s dismay. He reached over to the table and retrieved a jar of cream and used it to slick himself. Replacing the jar he turned a predatory smile on Spike._

_“Are ye ready to take me inside that tight little body of yers?” Angelus whispered as he lined his shaft with the puckered opening._

_“Yes, Sire,” Spike whimpered. The feelings were becoming too much for his overloaded senses. He had to have something to quench the ache and set him off._

_Angelus reached under Spike’s legs and pushed them up again. He gripped the base of his cock with one hand and tightened his hold on the back of his childe’s thigh with the other as he slowly fed his cock into the younger vampire’s tight, grasping body. Hearing Spike moan and whimper he continued to press harder until the head had pushed through the ring of muscle and slid deeper._

_When he was embedded, Angelus leaned over Spike and gripped the headboard. Leveling his weight and spreading the blonde vampire’s thighs even more so that he’d have no choice but to wrap his legs around his waist. He stared into Spike’s eyes as he slowly moved in and out, angling his body so his shaft found its intended mark._

_When Spike gasped and bowed under him, Angelus knew he had found his child’s sweet spot. Looming over the younger vampire, he started to thrust deep and hard, picking up his motions every time Spike voiced his pleasure until there were no words, just grunts and groans, sobs and whimpers to Angelus’ hard driven thrusts._

_Angelus’ vaguely noticed that Spike had turned his wrists in the restraints so he could grip the slats in the headboard to keep from having his head banged against it when Angelus’ cock hit his prostate hard enough to shift his body up the bed._

_Spike was literally shedding tears from the need to release, but Angelus was fucking him in such a way that it only prolonged the feeling and wouldn’t let it happen. He growled and bucked up and wiggled against his Sire, trying anything to make the bliss happen. Finally, he gave up._

_“Angelus! Please, I need to come! Fucking let me come!” Spike sobbed._

_Angelus grinned evilly and lay over his boy. He gripped a slat in the headboard with one hand to hold his balance and reached down between them. He wrapped his hand around Spike’s leaking cock and stroked the length in time with his thrusts which had changed to a tempo of short and fast strokes beating against the blonde’s prostate. Angelus’ features shifted as he buried his face in his childe’s neck bit down with his fangs and started to slowly draw on the potent blood which resulted in setting Spike off._

_“Holy fuck! Angelus!” Spike cursed as his burgeoning orgasm finally broke free and threatened to rip him in half in the process. When it subsided, he lay in a boneless heap under his Sire._

**************************

**_Near Giles’ Apartment, Present Day_ **

“Fucking hell! Angel!” Spike cursed as the images Angel was sending through the claim set his mounting orgasm off just as Angel sank his fangs into the blonde’s neck. Spike shook uncontrollably from the pleasure tearing through his body. When the convulsions settled he lay in a boneless heap under his Sire while he regained his strength.

It had been so long that Spike had forgotten how intense being with Angel was. If the Watcher diaries had anything on his and Angel’s sexual prowess, then they probably weren’t all that accurate. He may have been able to seduce women and men before he killed them, but Angel? Angelus could bend anyone to his will if he so chose. Spike’s thoughts on why his Sire never chose to could be that he was still on the massive guilt trip those gypsies set him on and he felt too guilty to try to seduce anyone.

So how’d he get Buffy to fall for him? Like that was hard to decipher: a sixteen-year-old with a schoolgirl’s crush on a 242-year-old vampire. Not to mention the whole good girl attraction to the local bad boy routine. Angel had her eating out of his hand from the moment they met.

Spike still had a death grip on Angel’s shoulders and waist as he felt his Sire pull on his blood slowly as if he were savoring the taste. Feeding in general was intoxicating, but this? The blonde was on cloud nine from this and well past the point of any simple orgasm.

“Angel,” Spike moaned softly as he leisurely rubbed against the body laying over him in the aftermath of his gratification.

Angel returned the moan but refused to release Spike’s neck. He laved the patch of skin, trying to get every drop that seeped from the twin punctures. He crushed Spike into the ground with his hips and rocked his restrained cock against his boy until he growled his release against Spike’s neck.

Angel rolled over on his back taking Spike with him. Once the blonde was draped over his body, he made a gash in his neck with a fingernail and bared his neck expecting his boy to dive for it.

“Angelus – Angel, what are you doing?” Spike was taken aback that Angel would offer his blood. Sire’s blood was ambrosia second to Slayer’s blood in Spike’s book. But he hadn’t had Sire’s blood in a century, if you didn’t count the time he was healing in his crypt a few weeks ago.

“It’s okay. Take it. It’ll help you recover from what I took and seal the bond,” Angel encouraged.

“Angel, have you totally lost it, mate? Recovering from an injury is fine, but you’ve never willingly given your blood to me in years,” Spike was stunned to say the least. He didn’t know what Angel’s game was offering his blood like this.

“Go ahead, Spike, take what you need and seal the bond,” Angel said. The Irish brogue in his voice was gone meaning that Angelus was satisfied on his end of the deal. Now he just had to get his boy to finish it.

Spike watched Angel’s eyes to see if he was really serious. A Sire just didn’t offer something like this on a whim. He stared at Angel silently for so long he figured Angel thought he’d refuse, but the offer had bowled Spike over and he was still recovering from it.

When Spike saw the thing he was looking for in Angel’s eyes, he leaned down and reopened the closing wound that Angel had made in his neck. His eyes rolled back in his head at the first taste of the potent blood and actually purred against his Sire’s neck.

When Spike started to draw on the wound more deeply, Angel slid his hands under the blonde’s duster, one hand curved around the younger vampire’s ass aiding the movement of his grinding hips and the other hand caressed along the spine, causing his boy to moan contently while he drank.

When Angel heard the reaction to the caress along Spike’s spine, he smirked. His boy was so responsive to his touch. Others have tried to bring out those same reactions – namely Drusilla – and had failed. Drusilla used to pout that she couldn’t get her Spike to play the way her daddy could.

Angel let Spike take a bit more than he normally would. The blonde was still his favorite, if not infuriatingly annoying, childe after all. When he felt the other vampire had taken enough the Irish brogue returned to his voice and Angelus came forth again.

“Yer mine, Will, in blood, in mind, we’ll always be connected. Ye’ll be able to feel my emotions and thoughts, as I will yers. Nothing can break this bond between us,” Angel whispered in Spike’s ear and then added more for himself, “Not Giles, not Buffy, no one. Yer an Aurelius. Yer Angelus’ childe, _my_ childe, claimed by _me_ , taken by _me_ and mated to _me_.”

“Yes,” Spike acknowledged softly. He wanted to cry like sappy William at those words. Yes, Angelus, Darla and Drusilla had claimed him in a familial claim. But this? Angel had taken complete ownership over him. No one had ever done that before. The moment he acknowledged the claim it slipped into place and he felt complete.

Inwardly, he growled. Whatever spell this was that was making him act like poncy William was turning him into a mess. Damn Willow. It had to be Willow. Her wacky spells never went as they should. It had to be a spell because otherwise he would have made Angel grovel before he consented to this. Ever since Angel showed up tonight everything had felt different: his own actions toward his Sire for one, accepting a complete claiming, reopening a relationship that he thought had died the minute he realized Angel wasn’t coming back to the family.

Angel felt the emotions that Spike’s thoughts caused. His voice returned to normal when he whispered, “Are you all right, Spike?”

Spike nodded against Angel’s shoulder. “Just confused about tonight’s events and what prompted them.”

Angel’s caress of his back stopped. “What do you mean?”

Spike sat up straddling Angel’s hips, causing Spike’s hands to drop to his thighs. “I mean, this whole night. Our reactions to one another when we’ve clearly hated each other for so long, this claiming – for which I am grateful, but it seems off.”

“Off? How? And for the record, I don’t hate you. You’re obnoxious, infuriating, wayward, insolent, rash, rebellious, but I don’t hate you.” Angel was confused by Spike’s words. The claiming didn’t seem off to him. Isn’t this what his boy wanted? He’d said ‘yes’ and it can’t be broken now. What the hell was Spike going on about?

“What if it was something mystical? I mean I’ve wanted from the moment you placed the Sire-Claim on me back in the day to have _this_ and you refused up until now. I just don’t get it. I’m not a fool, Angel, don’t play me for one.”

Angel’s eyes narrowed. “I honestly don’t know what you’re getting at, Spike.”

Spike rose to his feet and stood to the side of him. He couldn’t explain it when Angel touched him. It was too distracting. Nervously, he pulled out a cigarette and his lighter and lit up before looking at Angel, seeing his Sire get to his feet and watched him.

Pocketing the lighter and yanking the cigarette from his mouth, Spike’s eyes darted over Angel’s tall, broad form. They were inches apart and he already missed his Sire’s touch. Shaking himself free of that thought he tried as best he could to explain.

“Why did you come here tonight, Angel? The God’s honest truth,” Spike asked.

“I came to tell you about that day and why I gave the ring back. I felt you should know. I’m tired of the miscommunication between us. Ever since I renewed the Sire-Claim in L.A., Angelus has been taunting me to reclaim you completely,” Angel said.

“Angelus? Angel, _you are Angelus!_ You are one and the same,” Spike told him.

“No, I’m not. I’m not Angelus. I’m not that cruel and sadistic,” Angel defended.

“Say what you want, peaches. But you are Angelus and you can be that cruel and sadistic, you just choose not to be. Like me, I may not have a soul, but I can choose to be however I want,” Spike said.

“Like William? The Spike I know wouldn’t go into a crying fit like you did tonight,” Angel pointed out.

“You think I don’t know that! That’s why I said this seemed off! Thanks ever so much for pointing out my shortcomings, Angel. I knew I could count on you!” Spike yelled.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Spike. Christ. I think I figured it out. You don’t think it was real. _That_ , whatever just happened between us, the claiming was all a ruse to let you defenses down? That what just occurred was brought on by a spell? _That_ was too primal for a spell. Goddamn it, Spike. What did I just get done telling you? I wanted to claim you ever since I instigated the Sire-Claim in L.A. It wasn’t something I undertook lightly,” Angel argued.

“Well, I _wanted_ it too!” Spike yelled back.

“Then why _the fuck_ are you arguing with me?” Angel growled.

“Because I don’t get the things I want. Not in this life or any other. What I want doesn’t happen to _me_! What I get is abandoned, a Slayer I have to protect instead of kill, and a bunch of brats I have to make nice with all because of you. I’m a fucking vampire, Angel! I don’t have a soul restraining me. But I have you, _Angelus_ and _you_ taught me to be what I am! So this is either a dream or it’s a spell,” Spike said.

“Damn it, Spike, I’m _not_ Angelus! And what I taught you was how to survive. It wasn’t all about maiming and killing. We’ve been over the abandonment issue; I had no choice but to leave. Darla wouldn’t let me stay. But I’m here now. I’ve claimed you completely tonight whether you believe it was because of a spell or whatnot. Don’t you dare assume it means nothing to me! I struggled for a week before I came here tonight in deciding what I should do with our connection, tenuous as it was. I could have allowed it to flounder and dissipate,” Angel raged.

“Why didn’t you?” Spike asked.

Angel was stunned into silence at Spike’s question. “I don’t want to lose you again. You’re all I have left. Drusilla won’t change for me and before you say it, I know she’s my fault. Darla’s gone. Penn’s off God knows where. Our family is scattered Spike. I need this connection with you just as much as you do.” Angel moved closer to stand in front of Spike. “I felt the bond snap into place. Didn’t you feel it?”

Spike pursed his lips as he looked at Angel. He thought about not answering and watch his Sire dangle on that hook he stuck himself on. After a few moments he finally did answer, “Yeah, I felt it. I just don’t like this displaced feeling I’m getting. I think one of Red’s spells went haywire.”

“Then we’ll fix it. Whether there’s a spell or not, I did this of my own free will, Spike. A spell won’t change that,” Angel said.

Spike nodded in agreement afraid to voice the answer and somehow think himself weak for it. He felt like he belonged, complete. So he knew the claiming wasn’t a spell. But his emotions were all over the place and he knew that wasn’t right.

Angel looked back at Giles’ apartment. “Do you suppose we have to face them?”

“Yeah, the Scoobies are research fanatics. It’s our best shot of figuring out why we’re emotionally charged,” Spike said as he stubbed his cigarette out with his boot. He more or less let it burn to nothing during the argument.

The edges of Angel’s mouth quirked up. “Spike, I don’t think any spell can change that. We’ll always be this way around each other.”

“Come on, you big pouf. Let’s see what Giles can find out,” Spike said and walked ahead of Angel not realizing that while Angel followed him, he watched Spike’s duster sway around his backside.

**************************

**_Inside Giles’ Apartment_ **

Angel and Spike stepped through the front door only to be greeted by bickering. From what the two vampires could gather of the nonsense it made, the Scooby gang was discussing the possibility that Angel had been brainwashed and Spike was delusional. Hearing that, Angel slammed the door closed to get their attention.

When everyone’s head turned in their direction, Angel said quietly, “I’m not brainwashed. Spike is not crazy. I think there is a spell of some sort going on.”

“So does that mean you really don’t want Spike you just think you do?” Buffy asked.

“Oi, Slayer!” Spike yelped.

Angel put his hand on Spike’s shoulder to stay any movement his boy would have made toward the Slayer. He glowered at Buffy’s question. “That’s not what it means. It means that with Xander being a demon magnet obviously and Spike being emotional--”

“Hey!” Spike said, sounding offended.

“—that there’s a spell being cast,” Angel finished.

“Wait . . . Deadboy may be right,” Xander said and then cringed when Angel gave him a dark look for the nickname. “I know something . . . what is it . . .? Everything's familiar . . . Work, brain — work! Oh! Oh oh! Willow!”

Buffy furrowed her brow in confusion. “What about Will?”

“Something about Willow and her griefy-poor-me mood swings — so, so tired of it,” Xander said in an annoyed tone.

Anya perked up at that. Finally, her boyfriend was seeing the light. “You mean I don't have to be nice about her anymore?”

Buffy looked around at everyone, taking in Giles watching everyone like a hawk and noticing the way Angel and Spike were just too close to each other for her liking before she turned back to Xander. “Well, we're all tired of it, but what does it have to do with what's going on?”

Xander was a bit excited while he relayed what he knew. “She told me I was a demon magnet, a-and that you should pay attention to what goes on around you.” He looked skeptically at Angel and Spike. “I don’t even want to know what brought you together.”

Giles’ eyes lit up in realization. “And . . . that I should see things more clearly.”

Buffy looked around in shocked surprise. “She did a spell. That’s the only way Angel and Spike could be getting along now.”

“Oi!” Spike cried.

“Hey!” Angel cried.

“Yes . . . to have her will done. Whatever she says is coming true,” Giles surmised.

“And we, in some way or another were all affected. That explains the emotional roller coaster I’ve been on tonight,” Spike said more to himself than anyone in particular.

“Yeah. Right. You've been stuck to Angel’s side all night because you two are best buds,” Xander pointed out.

Angel growled in Xander’s direction.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, whelp, so sod off,” Spike told the boy none too friendly.

Giles cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “People, Willow is out there and she probably doesn't know what she's doing.”

Xander nodded in agreement. “We gotta find her.”

“Before somebody gets really hurt,” Buffy added. She looked over at the two vampires. She couldn’t believe that they were getting along. Angel and Spike never get along. That had to be the work of Willow’s spell as well, she was sure of it.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 9: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 9)_

**  
_UC Sunnydale Campus_   
**

Willow walked down the hallway of the Stevenson Hall dormitory. She opened a door and entered her room. Upon closing the door behind her, she was suddenly overtaken by a tall demon that placed his hands on either side of her head. An electric current swirled around her head and the pair disappeared.

Sometime later, the Scooby gang – minus Willow – and the two vampires walked down the hall of the dormitory. Buffy was still annoyed that during the whole trip to the college she couldn’t separate the two vampires. _What was up with that? Last week they couldn’t stand to be in the same room with each other and now they refused to be separated_ , Buffy thought sarcastically.

“Why did we have to bring them,” Buffy asked as she motioned toward the two vampires.

“Because they are affected by the same spell that we are and Willow can set things right again,” Giles replied.

“Well, I don’t see why we have to be here for the spell to be undone,” Spike said. He didn’t like any type of magic, and yet he was always affected by it no matter where he was.

Buffy pulled a stake out and turned toward the blonde vampire. “I can remedy that.” She held up the stake and stepped closer to Spike.

Angel moved swiftly between the two blondes and grabbed Buffy’s wrist. “No you won’t. Spike’s uncomfortable around magic. It’s the anxiety talking.” He looked over at Spike. The blonde’s eyes blazed with anger at the threat of the stake.

“You wanna have a go at me, Slayer? Go ahead, come and get me,” Spike growled.

Angel rolled his eyes. Spike was spoiling for a fight with the girl. He hoped that they found Willow quick and reversed the spell before the showdown he was witnessing came to blows.

“Spike, shut up,” Angel growled at his wayward childe.

“She threatened me with a stake first, Angelus,” Spike said petulantly.

Spike’s use of his name was not lost on Angel; he was just growing weary of the argument between the two people he cared for to correct his childe. He snatched the stake from Buffy’s hand and threw it, embedding it into the far wall. “Now it’s not a threat so drop it.”

Giles had watched the interplay and then turned and opened the door to Buffy and Willow's room. Giles led the way inside, Buffy followed with a frown on her face. Angel and Spike stood outside the door, effectively barred from entering due to the invisible barrier. When the Slayer and Watcher failed to notice the problem, the dark vampire cleared his throat.

“Um, Buffy?” Angel said to get the Slayer’s attention.

“What?” Buffy turned and stared at Angel in mild confusion before she noticed the dilemma. “Oh. Come in.”

Angel pushed Spike through the doorway before walking in himself. He looked around the empty room. Other than a large blackened circle adorning the carpet, nothing else seemed out of place.

Buffy knelt down and touched the area cautiously. “This is burnt,” she observed.

“Good way of stating the obvious,” Spike snarked which earned him a thump on the back of his head from his Sire.

Anya narrowed her eyes at the blackened carpet. _There was no way he would come here. Would he?_ Her former boss wouldn’t come here. She thought twice and came to the conclusion that with the way Willow was still grieving the loss of Oz, yes he would show up. After all, didn’t he show up while she was grieving her own failed relationship over a thousand years ago?

“Ta'hoffren. Bastard, he's opened a portal here,” she stated openly.

“Who?” Buffy was confused as to whom that Da’Hoffyman whoever was.

Spike, already bored with the search, was going through Buffy’s closet. All Drusilla had were long formless dresses that hid her curves. Looking through the Slayer’s closet though, it was an assortment of short tops, stretchy pants and low-rise jeans and Spike was enjoying the mental picture of her in them.

Holding up a sheer skirt with fuzzy garland around the bottom, Spike whistled, “Oh, fluffy.”

Everyone turned to see what Spike was talking about. Buffy was mortified to see that Spike was even in her closet. Angel adopted a bemused, albeit broody; look on his face when he saw his childe hold up the garment. “Spike,” he warned.

Spike smirked and quipped, “Hey, Angel? Have you ever seen her wearing this? I don’t suppose it would hide much.”

Buffy stomped over to Spike and snatched her skirt back. “Shut up, Spike. Either help or stay out of the way,” she snapped as she threw the skirt into her closet and slammed the door, “and stay out of my closet!” Turning back to Anya she asked, “Who’s this guy you mentioned?”

“Ta'hoffren. He made me a demon eleven hundred and twenty years ago,” Anya replied.

“Why would he attack Willow?” Buffy wondered.

“I don't believe he did,” Anya said.

**************************

Willow found herself standing in absolute darkness. She looked around and there was nothing but black. It seemed to suffocate her. A second later there was a flash and a transparent blue light drifted through the air. It grew brighter as it formed a tall shape. A blue demon with horns materialized in front of her. She stepped back in shocked surprise. She looked around her and saw that both she and the demon were surrounded by a large number of demons from various clans. When she looked back at the demon in front her, she realized he was speaking to her.

“You have much anger and pain. Your magic is strong, but your pain — it's like a scream that pierces dimensional walls. We heard your call,” he told her.

“I-I'm sorry,” she stammered. “I'll try for a quiet rage. Bye.”

Willow turned and tried to make a quick exit, but the minor demons formed a tight circle and she was trapped in the center with the tall demon. She stopped when he called her back.

“Our intention is not to quash your potential — quite the contrary,” Ta'hoffren assured her.

Willow slowly turned back to face the tall demon. She was scared and confused.

**************************

Anya, Xander, Buffy, Angel and Spike were walking through the cemetery. Angel felt that it was safer to walk between Buffy and Spike to keep the bickering duo from physical violence if he could help it. So far they had managed to snap at each other and sneak punches when they thought he wouldn’t notice. He was a vampire, damn it. Of course he noticed it! It was like baby-sitting a couple of five-year-olds. Whatever possessed him to sire childer was beyond him at this point. Oh yeah, Drusilla wanted a playmate.

To turn his mind on something else he asked Anya a question. “So, Anya, what’s the deal with Ta’Hoffren. What’s his story and what would he want with Willow?”

Anya shrugged. “I'd been dumped, I was miserable; doing a few vengeance spells — boils on the penis, nothing fancy.”

“Please, skip ahead,” Xander begged.

“Well, Ta'hoffren got wind of me, he offered to elevate me,” Anya explained.

“Meaning?” Buffy asked while giving the blonde nuisance her best death glare.

“He made me a demon,” Anya replied.

Buffy ignored Spike then. She was more worried about her friend than the irritating vampire. She whirled on Anya. “Oh God, Willow. You can summon this guy from this crypt, right? You can make him stop--”

Spike cut her off when he saw the large crypt. He practically scampered up to the ivy-laced crypt. “Oi! Wouldn't this be a perfect hideaway, Sire? We can live here and hunt – I mean save the hopeless, err, helpless and all that rot.”

“Spike, I am not living in a crypt. You couldn’t pay me enough to live in a crypt. I’ll take my underground apartment in L.A., thank you,” Angel stated.

Angel must have taken more blood from Spike than he first thought. His boy was utterly daft to think he’d give up his creature comforts to live in a crypt. He’d spent a century living in nothing but the best hotels, eating the help, dining on aristocrats and his boy suggested living in a crypt? He’d rather be homeless again than live in a crypt. Even his sparse apartment that he used to have here in Sunnydale was better than a crypt.

A demon lumbered their way. Xander saw it and pointed, “Hey, evil undead . . . demon.”

Angel and Spike turned and saw a demon that seemed to be rushing toward them. Angel thanked any higher power for the distraction over his childe. Before he could ascertain the threat, Buffy walked up to the demon like he was an everyday guy walking in the cemetery at night and gave him fair warning. “Okay, listen — now we're gonna do this without ruining the foliage.”

The demon took the warning as a challenge and punched Buffy. The Slayer and the demon engaged in tennis fisticuffs until she got the better of him and tossed him aside. As soon as she had rid herself of one demon, another appeared.

When she realized that they were never going to stop appearing she yelled, “Find some place to hide until we figure out how to stop these things from showing up!”

All five of them took shelter inside the crypt, barricading it as best they could. Anya ran to the far side of the building. She knelt down and drew a circle surrounding herself in the dirt.

“Blesséd be, the name of Ta'hoffren. Let this space be now a gateway to the world of Arash Ma'har, where demons are spawned,” Anya chanted.

**************************

In Arash Ma'har, Ta'hoffren was still trying to convince Willow to join the vengeance demon fold.

“The pain and suffering you brought upon those you love is inspiring. You are ready to join us here in Arash Ma'har,” Ta’hoffren said in a pleased tone.

Willow was confused. She didn’t bring anyone pain. She was dealing with her own emotional pain. Why did everyone else make it about their own? “Pain? What pain?”

**************************

Buffy was currently being choked by a demon that had reached through the crypt window. She thought she would surely faint until Spike looked over from where he and Angel were looking for something to barricade the door.

“Buffy!” Spike yelled at her. “Would you stop messing around and help here!”

Buffy would have given a retort but as it was, all that came out were choking noises. _Stupid blonde vampire, he could help me now damn it. That’s why he’s here isn’t it!?_

“Spi-ike!” Buffy managed to choke out. “He-lll-ppp!”

“Oh, for the love of --” Spike stalked over to where Buffy was plastered against the crypt wall by a demon’s arm protruding through the window. Taking a statuette from its resting place on a nearby base, he hit the demon hard a few times before he loosened his hold on the Slayer. Buffy ducked out of the way of the arm and glared at Spike. She snatched the statuette from the blonde menace and started hitting him with it.

“I don’t *thwack* know how Angel *thwack* puts up with you *thwack* enough to *thwack* trust you to *thwack* help me! You arrogant *thwack* bleached *thwack* freak!” *thwack*

“Uh, Buffy! Not doin' well here,” Xander yelled at her.

Anya was still chanting. “We come in supplication. We bend as the reed . . . in the flow of the, uh . . . . No, wait . . . we-we come in the flow of the, uh . . . Ugh!” Anya was at her wits end trying to remember a chant she hadn’t practiced since Ta’hoffren made her a vengeance demon. She took a deep breath. “Blesséd be, the name of Ta'hoffren . . .”

Angel stalked over to the blonde couple, grabbed the statuette out of Buffy’s hand and held it threateningly between them. “If you two don’t stop fighting and help get us out of this mess, I’ll knock you both in the head with this thing.”

Spike smirked. “Yes, daddy.”

Angel glared at his childe. “Spike come help with this tomb.”

Spike nodded and then added petulantly, “Doesn’t Buffy have to help too? I think she should, Sire.”

Angel grabbed the back of his boy’s head and pushed him toward the tomb.

“Well, it’s not like you have to protect me, Spike. Just help me!” Buffy grated out.

“Oh, so then what was that I just rescued you from, Slayer? A scruffy, overzealous puppy?” Spike shot back.

“Um, guys … a little help here,” Xander yelled.

The demons had finally busted their way into the crypt. Spike and Angel rush over to help the boy, but not before Xander was fighting a demon and already beginning to lose. Buffy, on the other hand, was holding her own in Slayer fashion. Anya stopped chanting and turned to look behind her. Seeing a demon beating up her boyfriend, Anya got to her feet and attacked the one assaulting Xander, but she was promptly tossed aside.

Spike and Angel sized up their enemy and then exchanged a look. They rushed their opponent. Spike hit him with a closed fist sending the demon staggering back. The demon shook its head to clear it just as Angel delivered his punch to the demon’s face. Spike tripped the demon as he staggered back, causing the demon to fall. When he was laid out, Angel and Spike pounced on him in full vampire countenance. Almost immediately, they fell into their old patterns of a century ago and found a rhythm with each other: one withdrew while the other swung on the demon.

**************************

Back at Arash Mahar, Ta'hoffren opened a dimensional rift and allowed Willow to see what her spell had done to her friends.

Seeing them fighting a horde of demons, Willow grimaced and drew into herself. “Oh God! But I didn't mean to!” she exclaimed.

Ta'hoffren shook his head. “Oh, but you did. This is the result of your power. You will make a fine vengeance demon.”

“No, please! You have to help them!” Willow begged. She couldn’t stand to see her friends hurt.

“It is not my concern. You are my interest in this matter,” Ta’hoffren stated simply.

Willow was frantic. She had to get back to Sunnydale and help her friends. “Really . . . no offense intended, Sir. I mean, you've been super-nice and everything, but . . . I don't want to be a demon. I just wanna go back and help my friends,” Willow pleaded.

“That is your answer?” Ta’hoffren asked solemnly.

“It-it is,” she stammered.

Ta'hoffren’s face took on a menacing scowl. “I'm sorry to hear that,” he said calmly. He shrugged then, and in a lighter tone said, “Oh well. Here is my talisman.” He held up a metal disc and Willow accepted it. “You change your mind, give us a chant.”

Ta’hoffren waved his hand and Willow disappeared.

**************************

Angel was struggling with a demon as yet another one appeared on the scene. Just as Spike took care of his own demon, the newcomer jumped him knocking him to the floor. Angel hit his current adversary in the face knocking him down and went to help Spike. He pulled the demon off his childe and twisted its neck in one smooth motion.

Spike looked up at his Sire and felt something electric pass between them. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he was so in tune with the older vampire. They had fought together as if a day and a century hadn’t passed between them. He apparently even had Angel watching his back – or front as the case may be – now as well. It was strange. He didn’t know if what he was feeling were his own emotions or those brought on by Willow’s spell. It was driving him crazy.

Angel held out his hand to help Spike to his feet. “Are you okay, Spike?”

“Yeah, I would have taken him, just surprised me is all,” Spike replied taking the proffered hand and rising to his feet.

Angel squeezed Spike’s shoulder affectionately before releasing him all together. He wanted to examine his boy all over by touch just to be sure he was unharmed but with the Scooby gang and Buffy so close he couldn’t risk it. Not without a multitude of embarrassing questions arising from such a display, no matter how innocent he meant for it to be.

Across the room, Anya and Xander were still thrashing the same demon that had attacked Xander in the first place. They had yet to succeed in defeating it when Willow suddenly appeared in the crypt.

“Let the healing power begin,” Willow chanted to the room. “Let my will be safe again. As these words of peace are spoken, let this harmful spell be broken.”

As soon as Willow said the final word thunder crashed and lightning flashed. Just as suddenly, the demons disappeared. Angel and Spike immediately put some distance between one another. Their minds were equally foggy from the disenchantment of the spell. They stared at each other with something akin to disbelief that they were even standing in the same building and not antagonizing one another.

“What are you doing here, Angel?” Spike asked confused.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Angel replied annoyed.

“I live here. This is _my_ town since you walked away from it,” Spike bit out. “Quite literally. L.A. is _your_ town. Remember? You threatened to remove me from there.”

“Yeah. I remember setting you straight on exactly _whose_ town you were playing your little games in over a _ring_ , _Spike_ ,” Angel pointed out. “I also sent you back here to help Buffy but I can see how well you listened to that instruction. How you ever survived all these years after I left the fold is beyond me, Spike.”

“Dru and I survived just fine on our own once we got you and Darla out of the picture, you arrogant, self-important, poncy…” Spike ranted.

“William, if ye want ta see another moonlit night, I would suggest ye refrain from finishing that tirade,” Angel growled in Angelus’ voice.

Spike came up short at the tone and accent Angel used. He’d heard it a lot over the last few hours. It seemed as though Angelus had been trying to break through his souled Sire all night. Spike stared at Angel with a mixture of disbelief, confusion, fear and something he really didn’t want to give a name to.

“Angel?” He had to be sure he was talking to the broody ponce and not his evil twin.

“What?” Angel replied in his normal voice.

“You aren’t reverting back to Him are you?” Spike wondered.

“No, I’m not Him. It’s just that you’ve always managed to bring him out in me,” Angel replied.

“Oi, now I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, mate,” Spike was half teasing, half serious.

“Hey guys! Look there’s Will,” Buffy said loud enough to get the vampires’ attention.

All five of them scanned the room and saw Willow standing at the back of the crypt. They all stared at her like she’s a strange anomaly. She smiled sheepishly at her friends and gave a slight waved.

“Um, hi, guys,” she greeted.

**************************

**  
_Giles’ Apartment_   
**

Willow was in the kitchen baking chocolate chip cookies. She was currently scooping a finished batch onto a plate that Anya was holding for her.

“How long are you going to keep making these?” Anya asked out of boredom.

“Oh, until I don't feel so horribly guilty,” Willow replied. “Which I figure is about a million chips from now. Also, I have to detail Giles' car.”

Willow took the plate from Anya and walked over to where Xander and Giles were sitting. She knew that cookies weren’t the all-forgiving way to go, but she hoped it was a start.

Holding out the plate to the Watcher, she said in offering, “Look, cookies. A very not-evil thing I did.”

Spike asked more to the room that Willow in particular, “So what exactly happened with your spell, red?”

Startled Willow turned toward Spike who stood a foot or so away from Angel and leaned on a curio cabinet. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said innocently.

“Sure you do. What did that little will of yours have us all doing exactly,” Spike prodded.

“You don’t need to embarrass her anymore than she already is, Spike,” Angel said softly.

“Well, I wanna know what she had me reacting to, damn it,” Spike bit out.

Willow gave Angel a grateful smile before answering. “I apparently turned Xander into a demon magnet and said that Buffy should see what’s going on around her more and Giles received eagle-eye vision and now he’s back to wearing glasses again.”

“Yeah, yeah. Enough about the slayerettes, what about me!?” Spike was getting impatient. A brief thought of how many he could take out before Angel stopped him passed through his mind.

Willow set the plate back on the counter and thought back to what she may have said about Spike. “Hmm. I don’t quite remember.” Spike gave her a scowl and she quickly said, “Something about waiting to relive old times with Angel.”

“Reliving old times! Willow, bloody hell! Reliving old times is slaughtering a village. Reliving old times is draining the innocent! We weren’t reliving old times. You sent me back to acting like William the fledgling you daft bint!” Spike told her.

“Spike! Will you shut up?” Angel growled at his childe.

Spike spun on Angel and pointed a finger at Willow. “That witch made me feel weak and . . . and a fledge again, Angel!”

“Did it kill you? I rather enjoyed it myself,” Angel mused.

Spike scoffed. “You would, you bleedin’ bastard.”

“Hey what’s with calling me a bastard?” Angel asked.

“Because you are… you always took delight in the weaker side of anything. Just look how Dru turned out. Had to have a toy to play with and now she’s broken and as loony as a --”

“Why do you always go for Drusilla in an argument?” Angel asked tiredly.

“Why not when she’s a prime example of your devilish charm?” Spike shot back.

“So are you, you insufferable miscreant,” Angel grated out.

While the vampires were arguing with each other, Willow offered the plate of cookies to Buffy. “Eat a cookie; ease my pain?”

Buffy took one and bit into it. “Mm. Better?”

“Well, baking lifts about 30% of my guilt, but only 7% of my inner turmoil. Guess that'll just take awhile,” Willow moped.

“It'll happen,” Buffy assured her.

“Hey, red,” Spike spoke up, ignoring Angel’s barbs, “don’t I get a cookie. After all, you did me the most damage.”

“No,” Buffy said reflexively.

“Spike, you’re a vampire. How you can stomach human food is beyond me,” Angel said in disgust.

“Hey, I didn’t suck the joy out of life the second I became a vampire unlike some people we know.” Spike looked pointedly at Angel.

“I was quite happy before Darla presented me with a gypsy. I was cursed with this soul. It almost killed me! I’ve spent a hundred years trying to come to terms with infinite remorse over what we did. So excuse me if I don’t find little things such as human food a source of happiness,” Angel growled.

“A little too happy if you ask me. I can see why they put that clause in there. They’ve never actually seen a deliriously happy Angelus,” Spike mumbled to himself. Out loud he said, “You should let some of that guilt go, mate. It’s starting to make you look old. Get out and enjoy life more instead of trying to save every downtrodden ponce you stumble across.”

“That’s my mission in life. What’s yours? Annoying everyone around you? No wonder Dru left you!” Angel shot back.

“First of all, that’s what those Powers That Fuck You use as an excuse to keep you on a leash, and second of all, you have no clue what the bloody hell went on between Dru and me, so keep out of it, almighty souled wonder!” Spike growled.

Angel had had enough from his errant childe after having to endure the comments all day. He drew back his fist and punched Spike in the nose so hard he knocked him to the ground. He stared down at the blonde while he tried to keep his anger under control. _Anger management, my ass. I don’t know what Cordelia’s talking about when she says I have an anger management issue. All my anger comes out because he drives me to it._

“Ow! You bloody ponce,” Spike wiped the blood from his nose and got back to his feet, glaring at his Sire. He probably deserved it, but he’d never confess that to the wanker.

“I can't take any more, Spike. Stop with the soul and wanker comments or I’ll take you out of this world permanently,” Angel said in a deadly calm voice.

“Well, then don’t make assumptions about my relationship with Dru that you have no clue about since you bleedin’ left us, then,” Spike pouted.

Willow walked up to the two vampires tentatively. They turned and glared at her. She jumped back a little when she saw their eyes had turned to their demon-gold color during the argument.

She held the plate of cookies up shakily in offering. “Did I mention about the sorry part?”

Spike’s eyes bled back into their human color of cerulean blue upon seeing Willow stand beside them. Not that he forgave her yet for what she did with her spell. He actually did like the redheaded Wicca. It was just that she had no clue about harnessing her magic. He grabbed a cookie off the plate. Staring at Angel, Spike bit a chunk out of it and silently dared his Sire to comment. Angel watched him with an aggravated expression and then waved his hand noncommittally and walked away.

Spike was the most infuriating childe he had ever come across. He wasn’t like this when Drusilla picked him out as the newest addition to their family. William was young and sweet and untried. Spike was abrasive and unruly and irritating. The more Angel thought about the way the blonde vampire was now made him grit his teeth.

Then there was the blood bond between them and now the completed Sire claim. What he had told Spike after it happened still held true. Spike was all Angel had left of the Aurelian clan. He wasn’t rethinking the claim, though maybe he should after the fight that had just occurred between them.

No. He _was not_ second-guessing that decision. Wasn’t the fact that Spike drove him insane that appealed to him? Angel thought about himself as human, as Liam. Spike now was so much like he was then. Maybe the Powers were paying him back for his wasted human years by dealing with his favorite childe now.

“I don’t regret completing the Sire-claim,” Angel said so softly that only Spike heard it as he intended.

Spike sobered up at the barely audible words. He looked at Angel and found his Sire staring at him meaningfully so he knew he didn’t mistake what he had heard. The blonde was completely serious when he nodded in acknowledgement to the dark vampire.

“I have to go. Gotta get back to L.A. before Cordelia decides to redecorate the office in a floral print,” Angel commented.

“Well, it was good to see you again,” Giles said conversationally.

Angel nodded toward the watcher as he walked toward the door.

“See ya’, Deadboy,” Xander gibed.

Angel’s mouth lifted in a ghost of a smirk at the nickname. He looked at Buffy and the familiar heartache tugged at his chest. It was an ache that would remain until the day he left this world. He couldn’t begin to know what to say to explain his relationship with his childe to her, so he didn’t try; only nodded his head in her direction and walked away.

He had his hand on the knob when he said, “Willow, try to be more careful with your spells next time.” He glanced over at the redhead still standing beside his childe. His gaze moved to Spike. They shared a silent understanding and Angel walked out the door, gently closing it behind him.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 10: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 10)_

**_Los Angeles_ **

Why did Doyle have to die? It was a question that Angel was still pondering as he sat in his dark apartment staring into nothing. When he had returned from Sunnydale yesterday it was to the news that a race of purebred demons was in town to round up the _impure_ masses and annihilate them.

He had never thought of the nature of true evil before. That is to say, before he met certain lawyers who represented it. Roaming Europe with Darla, Drusilla and Spike as the Scourge of Europe, he was led to think that they were at the top of the food chain due to their Aurelian bloodline. That was until he saw these demons in action. They were like a demonic version of the Third Reich: fanatics for a single-minded cause. He hated fanatics.

Tonight’s events opened his eyes in many ways. Angel had dug a little deeper into Doyle’s past to find that as much as he knew about his friend and guide, he really didn’t know him at all. He also witnessed a dramatic change in Cordelia’s demeanor.

The girl Angel knew from Sunnydale believed that _all_ demons were bad and all humans were good. There was no gray area. Last night, she had found out that Doyle was half demon somewhere along the line and she seemed to have quickly accepted it and him. Angel had been trying to get Doyle to tell Cordelia for weeks about what he was. Pretty soon he was going to lock them in his office and leave them there until the Brachen came clean and finally asked her out on a date. If it would have meant that he didn’t have to hear Doyle pine for the girl another minute, he would have done it.

That wouldn’t come to pass now. Doyle was dead. Angel had tried to jump onto the scaffolding himself, but the Brachen demon punched him and knocked him off the platform. He had jumped before Angel could scale the side of the platform to stop him. Then, he and Cordelia watched in horror as their co-worker and friend disintegrated as he pulled the plug on the device that would have killed the fifty or so Lister demons they were trying to save.

Angel had sat on the edge of the platform and let Cordelia crawl into his lap and cry for a while. It was reminiscent of when Drusilla used to crawl up in his lap when she wanted to be close to her Sire. Just as he did for his childe then, Angel let loose with a gentle purr that rumbled his chest. He didn’t know if it would have the same soothing effect on humans that it did on vampires, but it was all he had to offer Cordelia at the time.

How was he supposed to save people when he couldn’t even save Doyle? Angel thought back to the tape Cordelia had shown him when they returned to the office. It was a homemade promo tape the two of them had put together when he was here brooding over Spike and Buffy. He wanted to howl his grief when he had heard Doyle’s last lines: “ _Is that it? Am I done?_ ”

Doyle wasn’t supposed to be _done_. He was supposed to be here, helping to guide Angel to some sort of redemption or sense of peace. Two things that would forever be out of his reach now.

Angel smirked sadly when he thought back to when the gang in Sunnydale had asked if being with Spike would cause him to lose his soul. Angel didn’t think losing his soul would be in question now. There was too much heartache. As blissful as drowning in his childe would be, he doubted Spike would make him forget who and what he was as Buffy had.

Angel sighed and let his head fall back against the chair. He missed Spike. He had forgotten what it was like live apart when there was a completed Sire-claim in effect. The last time he had a claim on Spike it had dwindled to almost nothing after China. For that, he was grateful. After he had been cursed with his soul, Angel had felt Spike open the claim incessantly as he tried to find him. He couldn’t face his boy as weak as he was then. Not only because Darla would never allow it, but because Angel himself felt diminished. He didn’t feel like he lived up to Spike’s idolized image of him.

So, whenever his childe opened the claim to seek him out, Angel would stay a step ahead of him. It was very poetic. He was out of Spike’s reach just as the soul had taken his childer out of his reach. That is, until he met up with them in Sunnydale. His demon sensed them the second Spike had run over the ‘ _Welcome to Sunnydale_ ’ sign. The soul had immediately held the demon back from searching out its kin.

That was why Angelus was so insane when he was released. The demon had been banging against its cage for months trying to reconnect with familial blood. Then, that fateful night with Buffy took place and Angelus was released. He was insane with rage from being denied for so long. The only reason he could think of for taking it out on Spike was that his boy was different than other vampires. The blonde still had some measure of humanity in him that Angelus loathed after Buffy set him free. As such Spike had gotten the brunt of that rage.

Angel couldn’t blame Spike for helping Buffy send him to hell. In Spike’s eyes, he had probably deserved it for more than a few reasons. One in particular that stuck in Angel’s mind was that not only had he taken a sibling away from his childe, but he had excluded his boy from his Sire’s bed and the family bond.

Angel squeezed his eyes shut at the painful memory. He had so much to atone for: his life as Angelus, his treatment of his favored childe, and now Doyle’s death. He would never see an end to this very long tunnel that having a soul had created. He thought he had a purpose: to save lives.

Angel thought back over the past year with Buffy from the moment he came back. All she had tried to do to get him to stand on his own again.

He thought of Spike’s arrival in Sunnydale when he had kidnapped Willow and Xander. That was when he felt the blood bond tug at him. He could taste Spike’s sadness at the loss of Drusilla on the air. Angel knew his insane progeny was fickle. He knew Spike had stayed with her anyway. He was even grateful that his boy had cared for her all that time. He had wanted to comfort Spike, but he was torn between Buffy and his soulless, lovesick childe.

Angelus had been harassing him since then. He ignored it until Spike had shown up looking for the Gem of Amara. Now, he was connected to his boy again. If Angel opened the claim, he could feel Spike’s emotions crash over him. His childe had the most turbulent passion. Everything was amplified with Spike and his feelings were no different.

**************************

**_Sunnydale_ **

Spike felt a tearing pressure on his insides. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. The mating bond tried to pull him towards Angel or Angel toward him. It was gut wrenching. After his Sire had left Giles’ apartment, he followed suit and left the Scooby gang to do whatever it was they did when they didn’t need him. Now, he was lying on his bed in his crypt, trying to fight the urge to seek out the demon that had his stomach tied in knots.

Angel didn’t just complete the Sire claim; he had instigated a mating claim on his favored child in his desire to be connected to Spike. His elder probably didn’t realize how passionate he was in completing the act when he triggered the mating claim. Now, Spike felt like a part of him was missing, yet he had too much pride to go chasing after whatever it was. He wasn’t William the fledgling anymore. He refused to follow Angel around like a puppy begging for scraps. He tried that once, long ago, with emotionally disastrous results. He wouldn’t repeat that mistake again.

The pressure in Spike’s body was becoming almost more than he could bear. Finally, he gave in and opened the claim. Spike was surprised to find that he could easily slip inside Angel’s mind. The other vampire must really be distracted. Concentrating with a minimum of effort as to not rouse Angel’s senses, he found a spattering of images. No wonder he was feeling the claim tug at him, his Sire’s mind was a flurry of emotional memories. He was jerked out of Angel’s mind and nearly jumped a foot off the bed when his duster started ringing.

Spike sat up and reached for his coat that was draped over the end of the bed. Feeling around in the pockets he located the cell phone. Flipping the receiver open, he answered, “’ello.”

“Spike?” Angel’s voice came over the phone. He sounded tired.

“Who else would it be, peaches? You gave me this phone. Remember?” Spike said.

“Yeah, I know. I just didn’t expect you to answer so soon,” Angel replied.

“What’s up, mate?” Spike asked.

“Up? Why does anything have to be up?” Angel hedged.

“Angel, _you_ called _me_ , ergo I figured something was going on,” Spike pointedly out irritably.

“Doyle’s dead,” Angel said flatly. No preliminaries. No easing into the subject. Just a cold hard fact laid out on the proverbial table with barely suppressed emotions.

“Doyle? Who’s Doyle?” Spike asked. If he knew, he must have forgotten. He didn’t know a Doyle.

“Doyle. Doyle. The friend that had the visions that direct me,” Angel explained.

“Oh. He’s the one that sent you here to help Buffy and all? Have I met him?” Spike asked. He only understood a portion of what Angel said.

“Yeah, you met him when you were here for the ring. He was the guy with Cordelia. I believe she said you called him a ‘mick’,” Angel said.

“Oh! I remember. So how’d he go?” Spike asked when the memory of meeting Doyle in Angel’s apartment. Come to think of it, he didn’t smell completely human.

“What do you mean ‘how’d he go’?” Confusion colored Angel’s voice.

“Angel? What’s wrong with you? I asked how he died,” Spike said as his brow furrowed. Either Angel was really distraught over this or he had just entered Drusilla’s mad world. He had never known Angel to not be able to follow a conversation before.

“Oh, sorry,” Angel mumbled. “He died helping me save a group of Lister demons.”

“I’m sorry mate,” Spike tried to sound sincere as possible. A person really couldn’t be all that sincere when they didn’t know the bloke who died. At least _he_ couldn’t. He wasn’t _that_ considerate. He was an evil, soulless vampire after all. “So, what are you going do about the future-telling visions without your friend around?”

“I don’t know. Hadn’t really thought that far ahead, Spike. I’ll look into it later. It’s just too raw right now,” Angel replied.

 _I know. You opened the link between us and kept nudging me to do the same, peaches_ , Spike thought. The next question that came out of his mouth he, later, blamed on the Sire-mate claim. There was no way that the next question out of his mouth came willingly, not where his Sire was concerned. “D’you want to talk about it?”

If Angel was surprised at the offer, he didn’t allude to it. Which meant, he either intentionally ignored it or he was too depressed to notice. Either way he replied with an affirmative and spent the next few hours talking about random subjects. Fuck. This Sire-mate claim was going to be a bitch. As if the Sire-claim hadn’t put a kink in his way of things as well as baby-sitting the Slayer, _now_ Spike had to focus on ignoring the mate-claim. _Oi! My life is just getting better and better_ , Spike thought sarcastically while he spent the night listening with half an ear to his Sire’s woes. A thought came to Spike, though he didn’t know why he would try to comfort his elder. It must be another side effect of the claiming. While Angel’s voice droned on in his ear, Spike let his mind drift to the past, hoping that the link between them would draw his Sire back as well and try to calm him.

**************************

**_London, 1883_ **

_The sun was trying to break through the heavy drapery but only succeeded in filling the room with slivers of light peeking through the cracks in the drawn curtains. On the bed lay two vampires. Angelus was sated and half asleep, his body relaxed, although his senses were tuned to the restless movement of his childe beside him. For some reason Spike either couldn’t keep his eyes shut or couldn’t find a comfortable position. His demon was growling for more nourishment. The evening’s meal made possible by a young girl and her lover had not been enough. Angelus had told him to take his feedings periodically through the night and not all at once, but it only left him hungry at the end of the night. The pangs in his abdomen were distracting enough to bring silent tears to his eyes and cause him to toss and turn. It had been five hours since they had returned home. It had been 3½ since they had retired to bed for the day and Spike still couldn’t get comfortable. He growled in frustration as he shifted to yet another position._

_“What the hell is wrong with you, boy?” Angelus’ sleep-gruff voice rumbled beside Spike._

_“Nothing,” Spike answered irritably._

_“Did you feed enough tonight?” Angelus asked. He had tried to teach the boy how to have reserve in his feeding habits. But like all things with Spike, he either gorged himself or starved himself. Angelus was leaning more toward starvation for tonight’s diagnosis._

_“No!” Spike growled in the same petulant tone. Not only had he not fed properly, but now he was aroused and knew he’d never get to sleep until he found release._

_“Come here, boy,” Angelus more or less ordered._

_Spike rolled closer to Angelus until his Sire maneuvered the blonde to lie over his torso. When the boy didn’t respond immediately, he offered gruffly, “Go ahead and feed.”_

_At the blessing of his Sire, the demon in Spike took over as he instantly shifted and his fangs dropped. He nuzzled into the curve of Angelus’ neck. Breathing in the comforting scent of the other vampire, Spike’s roughened tongue slipped out to lick over a spot, tasting the skin. Angelus’ scent was home to him. The smell of whiskey and traces of scents that reminded him of Ireland surrounded him. Favoring a spot, Spike sank his fangs in and drank in long drawn out pulls of potent blood._

_Angelus closed his eyes and savored the closeness. His fingertips ghosted along his childe’s spine as he felt the bond of the claim strengthen between them. By the laws of lore, Angelus knew he shouldn’t let Spike take as much blood as he has in the past. Lore and decorum stated that a Sire only give his or her blood in turning and emergency cases such as their childe or own Sire being near death. Spike wasn’t near death. But, until he found a rhythm with his feeding routine, Angelus, for one reason or another, refused to let him starve._

_Spike purred contently in Angelus’ ear as the thick metallic liquid sweetened on his tongue before sliding smoothly down his throat. Another long swallow made it taste sweeter. Another. Harder pull. Blood splashed against his tongue, his teeth, and his cheeks. He let the fluid fill his mouth until his cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel gathering nuts before he swallowed several times, savoring the taste._

_In the hazy euphoria of drinking from his Sire, Spike barely registered the feel of Angelus’ fingers stroking along the curve of his back. Spike didn’t notice when the fingers caressed his tailbone and slipped along the crack of his ass to tease the hole there. He hissed against Angelus’ skin and bucked his hips against the hardening cock under him when he felt a nail scratch over the tender flesh of clenched muscle._

_Neither of them felt the need for a harsh climax such as happened in the past years. Angelus was content to feel his boy at his throat and feel his childe rock his hips against him as he leisurely teased the entrance with his fingers. Spike was content to allow it. A warm feeling washed over him while he drank and rocked his hips between his Sire’s fingers and cock._

_Angelus couldn’t tell whether it was a few minutes or a few hours later when he felt the first wave of dizziness hit from the siphoning of blood. He gripped the back of Spike’s hair and tugged gently but firmly until the blonde pulled free of his neck. Seeing his boy in a euphoric daze was beautiful. His eyes glazed over in passion, his boy trembling with tension, the sound of new blood coursing through his veins. Spike was intoxicating to behold. He thanked Drusilla’s lucky stars that he allowed her to keep this one._

_Angelus rolled over pinning Spike under him and kissed the full pouting lips. He watched his boy’s reactions as he worked another finger inside. He slid his fingers in faster with each of his childe’s reactions. The way the lips parted on a moan in an oval were just begging to be nibbled on and the mouth explored with a tongue. The arch of the body under him and the grinding of the cock against him, the roll of Spike’s hips on his fingers was enthralling to watch. Angelus’ eyes darkened as his cock became harder at the sight of his boy working himself on his fingers._

_Spike groaned and dug his fingers into the big shoulders above him and bucked between the delicious invasion of his Sire’s fingers and ground up against the cock that was continuing to harden beside his own._

_Hearing Spike’s whimpering cries and watching the boy writhe on his fingers was close to causing a sensory overload for Angelus. The bulge in his trousers was threatening to break free. He jerked the fastenings on his pants open and his hardened cock thumped against Spike’s pelvis. Angelus sat up on his knees and watched the younger vampire moan and writhe just from his fingers teasing inside his body. He wrapped his hand around the blonde’s shaft stroked the length in time with his fingers thrusting into the tight passage._

_It was a bit surreal watching his fingers move over and inside the body under him. Angelus’ eyes slowly raked up the stomach and torso to see Spike’s face contorted in pleasure. God, the sight was gorgeous. His childe’s head was thrown back into the feather pillow, his back arched as he tried to achieve release by pumping his dick into Angelus’ fist._

_The older vampire set the tempo, dragging out the younger vampire’s pleasure. He slowly pulled up on the cock and pushed back down, squeezing the appendage in his grip. When droplets of pre-cum had surfaced on the tip, Spike’s head shot up off the pillow to stare down his body to see what the hell his Sire was doing to torture him. This was unreal. He’d never felt this type of pleasure that lasted before. It was as if Angelus had kept him steadily on the brink of achieving bliss, but not painfully so. He could stay in this state forever._

_“Please, Sire!” Spike cried out as he bucked his hips slowly into the hand that gripped his cock._

“Please what?” Angelus asked while still keeping a steady tempo. He squeezed a few more droplets out and watched the clear liquid trickle from the bulbous head and slide down over his hand.

_Keep me here, take me, fuck me, anything just don’t let this end, Spike thought._

_“What do you want, Spike?” Angelus crooned._

_“More,” Spike grated out._

_“More of this?” Angelus squeezed the shaft harder until Spike groaned. “Or this?” he removed his fingers and pressed just the tip of his cock inside the puckered entrance._

_“Fuck me. God. Angelus!” Spike growled and bucked up into his Sire’s hand hard._

_Angelus’ lips quirked up. “I see you’re learning where your loyalties lay, my boy.”_

_Angelus leaned down and bit a nipple at the moment he plunged his cock deep inside the tight body under him. He licked the pain away from the hard nub until Spike was whimpering and bucking against him. He matched his thrusts with Spike’s movements and whispered in his childe’s ear as he pounded harder, faster, deeper inside._

_“Gonna fuck you hard, boy. You won’t be able to walk for days. Make you cum so hard you’ll pass out. Have cum and blood leaking out of your ass every time you move. Make you bleed, little one. You look so pretty when you bleed for me.” When Spike cried out louder, Angelus continued to pour it on as he shook the wooden frame of the bed with his movements. “Tie you up to the bed and leave you here until I wanna fuck this tight ass of yours again. I won’t even let Dru come near you. I’m a jealous demon Spike. You’re mine. Your body, your cock, your ass, your responses, all mine until the day you become dust.”_

_Spike growled at that. He had lost all his senses except hearing his Sire’s husky whisper in his ear and feeling the almost brutal thrusts that slammed into his body. This was more intense than anything he had ever felt. All of it brought on by Angelus. The dark vampire’s words and actions had turned him on so much he was trembling with need. He really did belong to the older vampire now. He could feel it in his bones. His blood, the same that had been taken from this being, was screaming for his Sire. That Sire was no longer Drusilla. He loved her dearly. But, he belonged to Angelus just as she did._

_With that knowledge, Spike pleaded in a shaky voice, “Fuck. Angelus, fuck me! More! Harder! Don’t stop, never stop! I’m yours! Yours! I admit it just **please don’t stop**!”_

_Angelus ran his free hand through Spike’s hair and whispered, “Shh. I won’t stop, not until you’ve completely given yourself over. You have to cum, Spike. Gotta cum, boy.”_

_Spike roared through his orgasm at Angelus’ prodding, his whole body shaking with the intensity._

**************************

“Do you remember, Angel?” Spike asked quietly.

Angel had become quiet some time ago. He had long since stopped rambling about destiny and redemption. Spike had been hearing the sound of small growls and labored breathing. Vampires in general didn’t need to breathe, it was just an ingrained action left over from being human that was never forgotten. However, Angel rarely breathed unless he was worked up . . . like now.

“I remember,” Angel’s voice was just as quiet with a husky quality to it.

“We’re not friends and probably never will be. We’ve tried every kind of relationship Angel and look how they’ve all turned out: one disaster after another. So what are you expecting this time around?” Spike asked.

“A connection,” Angel answered.

“You have that connection. You’re my Sire. Nothing can change that. Try again, because that’s not a good enough reason, mate. What do you want out of this?” Spike was getting agitated. It was bad enough having to soothe the broody one, now it was like pulling teeth to get a straight answer out of the ponce. He just wanted to come clean on what his Sire expected of him since he had failed all the other times they had tried a relationship.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore,” Angel said. He needed his boy with him.

“Alone? You’re building your own version of the Scooby gang around you, and you even have an evil law firm to fight on a regular basis. You aren’t alone down there,” Spike pointed out.

Angel sighed. “None of them knows what it’s like to be what we are. Cordelia thinks it’s a novelty, Doyle accepted it but then he’s – was – half demon himself. He’s gone now.”

“What we are? If you mean as vampires, yeah, I agree. But you’re the only one of us with a guilt-ridden soul here. I don’t know what it’s like to have a soul drenched in blood,” Spike said.

“Then why do you act more human than you do as a demon?” Angel inquired.

“I do not! Take that back!” Spike said incredulously.

“Spike, you are the most emotional demon I’ve ever met. You never completely lost your humanity. It’s still there, you just spent all your time trying to hide it to adopt the persona of a Big Bad vampire,” Angel said.

“That’s because I am the Big Bad, you git! I was killing and maiming my way across the world while you were being riddled with guilt,” Spike gritted out.

“Then tell me what happens to you every time Dru leaves you? Demons aren’t supposed to feel emotion at all, Spike. Yet you cry when Dru leaves you, repeatedly. That’s the humanity in you,” Angel said.

“What about you, git? You have emotions too. Even as Angelus you had them. Was that an obsession with a slayer a couple of years ago? Stalking her instead of outright killing her? You weren’t supposed to feel anything, remember?” Spike taunted.

“I know. Maybe that’s why our bloodline is so dysfunctional. We have emotions we aren’t supposed to have,” Angel conceded. A moment of silence passed between them before he said, “Can you not see why we needed this, Spike? I know I can talk to you and you understand what it’s like. Cordy has no clue about the urges my soul suppresses. If she did find out she’d probably stake me.”

“I’d give the cheerleader more credit than that. Look at the way she was when I was there. She seems down to earth and practical to me,” Spike reasoned.

“Yeah, she’d probably ask if I’d lost my soul first _before_ shoving the stake home,” Angel said.

Spike chuckled at that. “Most likely.”

“Spike, thanks for . . . this,” Angel said quietly and then projected through the claim, _Are you my boy again?_

“Sure Angel,” Spike said and then projected his reply through the claim, _Never stopped._

“I’ll talk to you soon, Spike,” Angel said.

“Yup, later peaches,” Spike said before hanging up. He tossed the cell to the other side of the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Yeah, his life was going to be harder with the claims in place. Resisting the pull of the mate claim was going to be another obstacle especially if Angel’s mind is always like it is tonight.


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 11: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 11)_

**_Rome, 1894_ **

_Angelus and Spike stumbled drunkenly into their hotel suite after a night spent carousing and supping on Italian aristocratic blood. The rich blood had left them deliriously happy. It was an odd occurrence that they burst through their chamber door giggling like schoolboys who had gotten away with a prank on the schoolmarm._

_“Ah, William . . .” Angelus started to say._

_“It’s Spike now, mate,” Spike corrected._

_“Yes, right. SPIKE!” Angelus said aloud. He turned a drunken curious gaze on his childe. “Why didn’t you keep ‘William the Bloody’ again?”_

_“You said it didn’t strike the right amount of fear in people, Sire,” Spike reminded him._

_Angelus shifted so fast that he wobbled and had he not been leaning on Spike, he would have fallen down. “I don’t know . . . ‘William the Bloody’ seems fearsome to me.”_

_Spike shook his head, wondering when Angelus would come to a conclusion on which name he should go by. “I’m rather fond of ‘Spike’, Sire.”_

_“Then ‘Spike’ you shall be, my boy. But, you’ll always my little Willy,” Angelus said. Then he laughed at his own pun._

_“Yes, Sire,” The concurrence came out of his mouth before Spike realized what he was agreeing to. “Um, Sire? I thought you were well-endowed in that area?”_

_“Well, now, I’ve no’ heard any complaints from anyone so far,” Angelus said._

_Between the affluent blood warming his body and hearing his Sire’s words, Spike’s mind took a southerly decline straight to his cock. He looked down at his crotch and then snuck a quick glance at Angelus’ crotch and noticed a bulge similar to his own._

_“See anything you like, my boy?” Angelus’ baritone voice broke through Spike’s lust-dazed thoughts. If vampires could blush, he would have been beet-red at having been caught staring at his Sire’s tented trousers. “Yeah, uh, no, I mean . . . bloody hell!”_

_While Spike stammered for an answer, Angelus grabbed the back of his head, pulled him closer and smashed his lips against the younger vampire’s mouth. He was hot and horny from the blood he had consumed and from the look, or feel of it, so was his childe. Spike stiffened in surprise at the suddenness of the action. He moaned softly as the elder vampire ran his tongue over his lips teasingly before slipping inside._

_As he kissed Spike, Angelus moved them toward the bedroom. He ended the journey when Spike’s back met the wall beside the opulent bed. He ground his cloth-covered hardness against that of his boy while he set about removing his childe’s clothes. As he peeled away each layer, he kissed, licked and bit his boy’s sensitive flesh._

_Spike hissed when Angelus bit his nipple hard. He arched into the dark vampire’s touch at his Sire’s big hands moved down his ribs to grip his waist. Not wanting to be the only one nude after this foray, Spike set about the task of removing Angelus’ shirt even as he dug his fingers into the other vampire’s broad shoulders whenever he hit a particularly sensitive spot._

_Both vampires were popping the buttons on each other’s pants at the same time. There was a distant echo of material ripping apart in their haste to disrobe each other. Angelus had immediately wrapped his fingers around Spike’s cock and was steadily stroking the length which caused the younger vampire to whine and mewl in his rising passion._

_Spike was nearly climbing the wall while he rocked his hips into his Sire’s fist. Angelus had a firm grip on him so that he couldn’t work himself into frenzy too quickly. He had taken to growling softly as he jerked his shaft in his Sire’s fist._

_Guiding the blonde by his rampant cock, the dark vampire pulled him off the wall and steered him toward the bed. He pressed his childe back and then followed him. Angelus continued to stroke the length as Spike shifted his body more comfortably on the mattress._

_Angelus let go of Spike’s cock and moved up to straddled his chest. He stared down at his childe’s lust-filled gaze as he rubbed the head of his dick against the boy’s lips. He watched as the pink tongue peeked out to lap at the crown. Angelus moaned at the sight of his boy’s teasing and leaned forward a little, pressing the tip between Spike’s lips._

_“Go ahead. Take it,” Angelus urged softly._

_Spike pulled the foreskin back with his thumb and forefinger and opened his mouth around the head enough to make a snug fit. He glanced up as his Sire and saw intense dark eyes stare back him. He was transfixed by those eyes. They were eyes that changed frequently, from hardening in anger to softening in understanding to darkening into chocolate silk with passionate need. The way they were now._

_Angelus continued to stare at Spike as he pressed forward. He was caught between the blue eyes that were darkened with the glaze of passion and watching his own cock slowly disappear into the cool recesses of the mouth wrapped around him. He gripped the headboard with one hand and cradled his childe’s head with the other as he thrust steadily into that mouth. All the while he stared into Spike’s eyes._

_“Oh, yeah. I’ve taught you well, haven’t I? So good at this . . . Make it tighter . . . Suck your cheeks in . . . oh, fuck . . . that’s it. Harder . . . harder,” Angelus urged as his pace picked up and he bucked faster into Spike’s mouth._

_Spike had followed his Sire’s instruction. He licked the shaft as it slid back and forth over his tongue. He reached around Angelus’ thighs to clutch at the dark vampire’s ass in an attempt to steady the bucking hips. He groaned around the shaft, causing the other vampire to growl at the vibrations it sent along the length._

_Soon, Angelus was thrusting his cock down Spike’s throat, punctuating each plunge with a grunt or a growl. He smirked at the knowledge that Spike still had not relaxed the tight ring his lips made around his dick. He had taught his boy well. If no other lesson had sunk in, Angelus’ instruction on how best to please him sexually had. He roared the arrival of his climax even as he continued to pump his length into his childe’s mouth._

_Angelus pulled away. His cock made a plopping noise as it left Spike’s mouth. He lay down over his childe and watched as the other vampire swallowed. He reached down and stroked Spike’s hardened shaft to an even more intense throbbing. Then, he plunged his length into his child’s anal passage._

_Spike howled his rage at the dry invasion even as he welcomed it. He would have voiced his anger but Angelus’ mouth was suddenly covering his in a possessive kiss. He felt his legs being lifted and spread wider as his Sire thrust deeper into his body. He sucked hard on the tongue that mimicked the driving force of the other vampire’s hips. He clawed at Angelus’ back and shoulders until the older vampire grabbed his wrists and held them down._

_A small feminine gasp caught their attention. Both vampires turned their heads to see a blonde girl in a maid’s uniform standing in the doorway. Even as they both watched her with yellow eyes, Angelus did not stop plunging into his childe’s body. Instead, Angelus beckoned the girl closer to the bed._

_In a flash the girl was on the bed between them. She was taking Spike’s cock into her body. Angelus was behind her still pumping deep and possessively into his childe’s body as he continued to watch the younger vampire’s expression. He occasionally hit the bundle of nerves on every other stroke which caused Spike to hiss and buck up into the girl. Angelus held the girl’s small breasts in his hands, seeming to weigh them in his palms. Spike leaned up and took the offering. He suckled and nibbled on the girl’s nipples until she let out a throaty cry and arched back against Angelus. The action caused her hips to thrust down, taking Spike’s shaft deeper inside her body. With each thrust Angelus made into his childe’s ass, the motion caused the younger vampire to plunge up into the girl._

_Spike leaned up, grabbed the girl around the hips and in silent agreement with his Sire, he bit into the girl’s throat at the same time Angelus sank his fangs into the other side of her neck. The girl screamed in agonized pleasure as they drank from her and Spike pumped his dead seed into her pliant body. When Angelus felt his childe’s ass clamp around him in release, he growled and let his own orgasm come with a final thrust into the younger vampire’s body._

_As quickly as she appeared, the blonde girl was gone and Angelus’ fangs were latched into his boy’s throat as Spike drank from him. He allowed the transgression to go unchecked for a moment before he buried his hand in his childe’s hair and yanked him away from his throat._

_Spike stared at Angelus’ in a sex-sluggish daze until his Sire kissed him hard and fervently. Every nerve ending felt alive wherever the elder vampire touched him. The passion was so consuming to the blonde vampire that he had to clutch at the other vampire’s shoulders._

**************************

Buffy was jolted awake by the very vivid dream of seeing Spike and Angelus going at each other like rabid animals. She had never seen anything like it before. Even her time with Angel hadn’t been that intense. It had shocked her to see them so . . . primal. Not to mention one minute she was there watching them and the next she was between them, taking Spike’s cock into her body while Angelus fucked Spike and controlled their tempo and thrusts. It was the hottest thing she had ever witnessed or ever been party to and it had all been a dream.

**************************

Spike’s eyes sprang open and darted around. It took a moment for his mind to clear before he recognized the interior of his own crypt. When his hand skimmed up along his torso to touch wet skin he froze. Looking down he saw that there was a pool of cum on his stomach and that his cock was still hard. What the hell was wrong with him? He was now having wet dreams about Angelus. He could still taste his Sire’s flesh on his tongue. Not to mention the vivid memory of sinking his fangs into his neck. His whole body was thrumming with need for Angel. _Bloody hell, my life is really fucked up. I don’t need this complication right now. Soddin’ Sire-mate claim. What the hell was that ponce thinking when he completed that? Who was the girl?_ Fuck. He needed a release.

**************************

Angel slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and reached up to rub his neck. Why had he woken up? He closed his eyes and concentrated. Ah. Spike was awake. The blonde had pulled them both out of the dream. He could still feel the high emotion coming from his childe through the claim. Those emotions were playing havoc on his senses. He could still taste Spike’s complicated blood in his mouth. He could still feel his boy’s responses to his touch.

He had forgotten about the full impact of completing the claim had on both he and Spike. He was starting to crave his childe and knew that the other vampire was beginning to crave him. It was the effect of the mating claim that caused that sensation. It was trying to draw them closer together and he felt his boy trying to fight it.

It would be much harder for Spike to accept than himself. By the time he had completed the Sire-claim, he was already in agreement with Angelus. Spike, on the other hand, was engaged in an inner debate. William, the young man that Spike had once been had already accepted the connection and yielded and the demon inside of him had capitulated to its dominate Sire. Spike, the haughty, impetuous, wayward, abrasive vampire that he was, still fought the claim. He still denied himself the luxury of belonging after taking care of himself and Drusilla for a century.

Angel hoped Spike came to the decision to accept his fate as it was now. He didn’t think he could last another century while Spike was still deciding if the claim was in his best interest. Angel needed his boy in more ways than one. Although, in his current hardened state, it was a physical need. _And who was the girl in the dream?_ She had looked oddly familiar although her image had slipped from his mind the second he had woken up. Fuck. He needed a release.


	13. Chapter 12-A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 12-A: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 12-A)_

**_Giles’ Apartment_**

Buffy, Xander, Willow, Riley and Giles were discussing the best way to defeat the Initiative’s cyborg, Adam. So far, they had come up with nothing that was a feasible plan. Buffy sat down on the arm of Riley’s chair and put her arm around his shoulder. While the gang talked over other ways, Buffy silently studied her new boyfriend. 

Buffy hadn’t heard from Angel since he had shown up a little over a month ago and helped rescue Willow from Ta’Hoffryn. That didn’t seem right though. She still had no idea why he was in Sunnydale. He and Spike seemed awfully close. Of course there was the whole openly claiming Spike that threw her. She didn’t understand that at all. 

Since that day, Buffy grew closer to Riley. They officially started their relationship after Angel had claimed Spike and went back to Los Angeles. Everything had been going fine for the last month. She was concentrating on college and slaying. She had a steady boyfriend. She had seen very little of Spike, but enough that he was becoming a pest. At times during her patrols, she could feel the blonde vampire but didn’t see him anywhere around. Then, last night while she slept she was pulled into a dream with Spike and Angelus. Only Spike wasn’t Spike. He was different. They both were. The scene she had witnessed was raw, disturbing and erotic. They went at each other like starved animals. Even now she remembered it as clearly as a Slayer-dream. The phone rang and jolted her out of her thoughts. 

Giles picked up the phone. “Hello. What? Yes, she is.” He motioned to Buffy with the receiver. “Um . . . it’s for you.” 

Buffy looked up surprised. Who would be calling her here? As far as she knew her mom was fine. She took the phone from Giles. “Hello?” 

Faith was outside the apartment watching Buffy from the window. 

“What sort of emergency?” Buffy was asking with a frown on her face. “No, I haven’t.” 

Faith stepped away from the window and disappeared. 

“Thank you, I’ll let you know,” Buffy said and put the phone back on its base. 

“Well? What is it?” Giles asked apprehensively. 

Buffy looked up at Giles and then around to all of her friends. “It’s Faith. She’s awake.” Willow and Xander looked surprised. Riley looked confused. Buffy went on to explain, “She beat someone up, took her clothing and disappeared from the hospital. No one knows where she is.” 

Xander rolled his eyes. “I’d say this qualifies for a ‘Worst Timing Ever’ award.” 

“What do we do?” Willow asked worried. 

“We’ll have to find her,” Giles stated. 

“What about Adam?” Willow inquired. 

“Yeah,” Xander agreed. “I’d hate to see the pursuit of a homicidal lunatic get in the way of pursuing a homicidal lunatic.” 

“Well, Faith’s not exactly low-profile girl. I’ll patrol and wait for her to make a move,” Buffy concluded. 

“But, then what?” Giles asked. 

“Oooh! I have an idea! Beat the crap out of her!” Willow suggested. 

“Good plan!” Xander agreed. 

Buffy nodded. “Good on paper. But we still have a decision to make. Do we hand her over to the cops? They wouldn’t know what to do with a Slayer even if they knew we existed.” 

“What about the Council?” Willow suggested. 

“Been there, tried that. Not unlike smothering a forest fire with napalm as I recall,” Xander said. 

“Well, what about the Initiative? They do have containment facilities,” Giles suggested. 

“One word: Evil,” Xander said. 

Buffy sighed. Well, she wanted a distraction from the dream she shared with Angelus and Spike. She guessed this was the thing to distract her. “There’s no way around it. Faith is back and whether I like it or not, she’s my responsibility.” 

“Yeah, too bad,” Willow pouted. “That was our first coma ever.” 

“We have no idea where she is. We don’t know what she’s thinking, what she’s feeling . . .” Buffy was saying. 

“. . . Who she’s doing,” Xander added petulantly. 

“She could be terrified. Maybe she doesn’t even remember. Or maybe she does and she’s sorry and she’s alone hiding somewhere,” Buffy ran through the options of the possible conditions Faith could be in. 

“Well, perhaps there’s some form of rehabilitation we just haven’t thought about,” Giles supposed. 

“And, hey, if not, ass-kicking makes a solid plan B,” Willow said brightly. 

“I’m not going to rule it out,” Buffy said. “First thing, we need to do is find her. Then we can take it from there.” 

Riley had sat back and watched the whole conversation play out. There was mention of some girl named Faith. He didn’t know anyone but his cousin Faith back in Iowa. Whoever this girl was, she had managed to get Buffy hackles up and make Xander and Willow nervous. “Who’s Faith?” 

**************************

**_UC Sunnydale Campus_**

Buffy and Willow were walking along the campus between classes the following day. 

“What did you tell Riley?” Willow asked. 

“The truth?” Buffy hedged. “That she’s my wacky identical cousin from England, and whenever she visits hijinks ensue?” 

Willow nodded solemnly. “It’s good that you guys have such an honest relationship.” 

“No, I told him the story. I vagued up a few bits, but no flat-out lies,” Buffy assured her friend. 

“That’s fair. How’d you handle the Angel-y parts?” Willow asked half-curious, half-teasing. 

“I did some editing,” Buffy confessed. It’s not that I’m trying to hide anything from Riley, it’s just that’s a longer conversation, and I had a Faith-hunt to do.” 

“Any luck on that front?” Willow inquired. 

“I couldn’t find her. I don’t know exactly where to place that little up-continuum,” Buffy replied. 

“At least you’re not alone on this. I bet every cop in Sunnydale is out there looking for her right now,” Willow assured her. 

“The pressure’s definitely on. I’m telling you, if I were her, I’d get outta Dodge post hasty,” Buffy quipped. 

During their conversation the girls had managed to walk the campus grounds toward the notice board. There was a group of students standing around it. Buffy had been within earshot of the group when she had said that last comment. 

Faith turned away from the notice board and looked Buffy up and down disdainfully. “But you’re not me.” 

Buffy’s head turned around so fast at the sound of Faith’s voice she nearly gave herself whiplash. 

“So . . .” Faith said, “check you out B. Nice, the big girl on campus thing’s really working for you.” 

“I’ve been looking for you,” Buffy said nonchalantly. 

“I’ve been standing – well, lying – still for eight months, B. How hard did you look?” Faith asked sarcastically. 

“Are you all right,” Buffy inquired. 

“Five-by-five. It’s that thing about a coma. You wake up all rested, rejuvenated . . . and ready for payback,” Faith said with a false smile. 

“So much for the pleasantries, huh?” 

“What did you think, B? I’d wake up and we’d go for tea? You tried to gut me,” Faith sneered. 

“You’d have done the same to me if you’d had the chance,” Buffy sneered back. 

“Let’s have another go at it. See who ends up on top,” Faith said snidely. 

“It doesn’t have to be like this, y’know,” Buffy tried for calm and rational. 

“Actually, I think it has to be exactly like this,” Faith nodded. 

“Faith, these are innocent people,” Buffy said. 

Faith looked around at the students milling around the campus. “No such animal.” 

“I guess it was too much to hope that you’d use your downtime to reflect and grow?” Buffy asked sarcastically. 

“I could say the same for you. I mean, you’re still the same better-than-thou Buffy. I mean, I knew it somehow. I kept having this dream, I’m not sure what it means, but in the dream the self-righteous blonde chick stabs me, and you wanna know why?” Faith lectured. 

Willow was sliding her backpack off her shoulders slowly as she watched the exchange. Maybe if she could get the drop on Faith and help Buffy, then the rogue slayer would be contained until the police showed up. 

“You had it coming,” Buffy answered. 

“Well, that’s one interpretation,” Faith conceded. “But in my dream, she does it for a guy.” 

Willow inched closer towards Faith from behind, wielding the bag. 

Faith cocked her head and said, “Try it Red, and you’ll lose an arm.” She refocused on Buffy and continued, “So, I wake up to find the blonde chick isn’t even dating the guy she was so nuts about before. I mean, she’s moved on to the first college beef stick she meets. Not only has she forgotten about the love of her life, but she’s forgotten about the chick she nearly killed for him.” Faith shrugged. “So, that’s my dream. That and some stuff about cigars and a tunnel. But tell me, college girl, what does it mean?” 

“To me?” Buffy asked. “Mostly, that you still mouth off about things you don’t understand.” At that moment police sirens sounded in the distance and were coming closer. “Uh oh, I guess somebody knows you’re here.” 

Faith punched Buffy in the face. They fought as the police cruiser approached. Willow finally got a chance to make a move and attacked Faith from behind. She turned and was grabbed by Buffy and yanked out of the way. 

“You took my life, B. Payback’s a bitch,” Faith sneered. 

“Look who’s talking,” Willow countered. _Okay, not the greatest comeback line in history._

“See you around,” Faith said. She ran off, throwing a police officer aside, jumped onto the hood of the car, knocking another officer out of the way and ran across a field pushing students aside with Buffy in pursuit. Faith leapt over a wall. Buffy ran over to it only to find that Faith had disappeared. 

**************************

**_Downtown Sunnydale_**

Xander and Giles were in the streets searching for Faith. They had been looking since Buffy had come to the apartment with news of her sister Slayer being on the loose. They had scoured the northern part of Sunnydale from Giles’ home to the Sunnydale Commons where they were now. Well, to be honest, Giles was looking for Faith. Xander was babbling. 

“The point being, I could be the target here,” Xander was saying. “Faith finds Mr. Xander Harris still in town; she goes tighter than cat-gut.” He nodded affirming his own comment. “She’s got a lotta pent-up feeling there that’s all I'm sayin’ . . . .” 

“Yes, I'm sure,” Giles said, wearily. 

“See, I can't be held responsible for the effect I have on women,” Xander went on to gloat. 

“No . . .” Giles started to say as he rolled his eyes. _Teenagers. Xander._

“See, Faith and I have a history . . .” Xander said cutting off what Giles was about to say. 

The boy shut up when they both heard rattling coming from an alleyway they were passing. They glanced around, but saw nothing. While they cautiously ventured into the alley, Xander charged the blaster gun he was carrying. As they moved closer towards the sound, Spike stepped out of the darkness. 

“Spike?” Xander asked angrily. 

“What are you doing here?” Giles inquired in a similar tone. 

“Me?” Spike asked petulantly. “Hey, I'm not the one out of place here.” 

“For your information, smart ass, we've got a rogue Slayer on our hands. A real psycho-killer,” Xander informed him. 

“Sounds serious,” Spike said with mock concern. 

“It is,” Giles said solemnly. “What do you know?” 

“Well, now, that depends . . . what do you need?” Spike smirked. 

“Her,” Xander said and went on to describe the missing Slayer as, “Dark hair about yea tall,” he indicated her height in comparison to himself. “Goes by the name of Faith, criminally insane.” 

Giles rolled his eyes at Xander’s theatrics and turned to Spike. “Have you seen her?” 

Spike furrowed his brows as if in concentration. “Is this bird after you?” 

“In a bad way, yeah,” Xander drawled out. 

“Huh,” Spike nodded. “Tell you what I'll do then. I'll head out, find this girl, tell her exactly where you are and then watch as she kills you,” Spike said with a hint of teasing. His face became sober when he saw the looks of surprise and irritation on their faces. 

Spike closed his eyes and shook his head. “Can't any one of your damn little Scooby gang at least try to remember that I hate you all? I’m only here to baby-sit the blonde bint not help her. Just because I can't do the damage myself because of Angel’s Sire-claim, doesn't stop me from aiming a loose cannon your way. And here I thought the evening would be dull.” 

“Go ahead,” Xander spat. “You wouldn't even recognize her.” 

“Dark hair, this tall,” Spike reiterated Xander’s description right down to indicating how tall she was, “Name of Faith, criminally insane. Like this girl already.” 

Xander and Giles watched Spike turn to leave. “We're dumb,” Xander concluded. 

Giles let Spike get a few feet in front of them before he called out, “What would Angel say or do to you if you didn’t help us?” 

Spike stopped and turned at those words. He walked back to stand in front of the Watcher. “ _Angel_ told me to look after her, watch out for her. He never said anything about hunting down a demented Slayer.” 

“As your _job_ is to watch out for her, I feel compelled to inform you that if we do not find Faith soon, she _will_ harm Buffy,” Giles said. 

“I’ll see what I can find out, but if that girl has already gotten to Buffy before I do, I won’t step in to help with the fight,” Spike finally said with a sigh and walked away shaking his head. 

Just because he had to baby sit the blonde Slayer, didn’t mean he had to defend her. Personally, she and this Faith chick can have at each other for all he cared, as long as neither of them came at him with anything wooden or pointy. 

**************************

In another part of town, Faith walked along the street. She stopped at a window of the sporting goods store to admire the knife display. In a blink, she heard the sound of a police radio and saw a squad car come around the corner onto the street. There was a group of teenagers walking towards her as well and Faith melted into the crowd as they crossed the street ahead of the cruiser. When they reach the other side Faith ducked into a nearby alley. She stuck close to the wall as they cruiser passed by on the street. 

“Faith!” she heard a stranger call out. 

Faith turned and looked down the dark alley to see a hairy-faced demon step out of the shadows and walk towards her. 

When the demon saw the confused look on her face, he moved closer as he explained, “A friend sent me. I got a little remembrance from him --” 

When the demon was close enough, Faith grabbed him and pulled him down so that she could wrap her arm around his neck, getting him into a forward headlock. She jerked on his neck until there was a cracking sound. She jerked a second time until there was a louder snapped that echoed through the alley. Letting the demon go, his dead body fell to the ground and his coat fell open to reveal a stuffed manila envelope. 

Faith stepped over the demon and grabbed the package up. By then, the police car was making another sweep of the back alleys. She rushed over to the wall of a worn building and quickly climbed the fire escape ladder. She was just barely out of sight when the police halogen light illuminating her boots as it swept across the area and drove away. 

Faith found an entrance to the building only to find out it was a pawn shop. She opened the envelope and pulled out a small box and a video tape. Looking around, she located a TV and VCR set-up. Turning the TV on, she loaded the tape into the VCR and pressed ‘ _PLAY’_. When a picture appeared it was of Mayor Wilkins sitting behind his desk. 

“Hello, Faith. If you’re watching this tape, it can only mean one thing. I’m dead,” Richard Wilkins said. 

Faith was standing behind the counter watching the screen with a dumbfounded look on her face. _Dead? Well yeah, technically morphing into a demon you have to be a little dead. But then wasn’t he immortal anyway?_

Wilkins went on to explain, “And our noble campaign to being order to the town of Sunnydale has failed . . . Utterly and completely.” He stood up and continued, “But on the other hand, heck! Maybe we won.” He rounded the desk and leaned back against it as he chuckled to himself. “And right now I’m on some jumbo monitor in the Richard Wilkins Museum surrounded by a bunch of kids sitting Indian-style and looking up at my face, filled with fear and wonder.” That sparked another chuckle out and he leaned forward. “Hi, kids!” he called out indulgently and laughed. 

Faith smiled knowingly at that. 

Mayor Wilkins’ voice took on a serious tone as he resumed his position of leaning back on the edge of his desk. “The realist in me tends to doubt that. Now, Faith, as I record this message you’re, uh . . .” his expression showed signs of pain, “. . . sleeping. And the doctors tell me that you might never wake up. I don't believe that,” he said resolutely. “Sooner or later, you will wake up and when you do, you'll find the world has gone and changed on you. I wish I could make the world a better place for you to wake up in, but . . . tough as it is to accept, we both have to understand that even my power to protect and watch over you has its limits. See the hard pill to swallow here is that . . . once I'm gone . . . your days are just plain numbered.” 

Faith stared at the screen with a miserable expression on her face. On the screen, Mayor Wilkins held up his hands in surrender. “Now, I know, I know you’re a – you’re a smart and capable young woman in charge of her own life. But the problem, Faith, is that, uh, there won't be a place in the world for you anymore. Right now, I bet you're feeling very much alone. But you're never alone. You'll always have me. And . . .” he turned and picked up a small black box from his desk. He held it up for the camera. “. . . you’ll always have this.” He chuckled. “Go ahead. Open the box.” 

Faith picked up the same box and examined it. 

“Don’t worry. It’s not going to bite,” Mayor Wilkins urged from the tape and then laughed, “That’s my job. Go ahead! Open it!” 

Faith gave the man on the screen a wary glance. She slid the panel of the box open and peered inside. 

“Surprise!” Mayor Wilkins called out from the screen with glee. “See, you don’t get these in any gumball machine. When you’ve been around as long as I have, you make friends. And some of them forge neat little gizmos like the one you’re holding right now.” 

Faith held up a strange looking device to examine it more closely. It’s shiny, metal, and fit in the palm of her hand with three little loose stems with rings on the ends. 

“And here’s the good news,” Mayor Wilkins continued chuckling. “Just because it’s over for my Faith, doesn’t mean she can’t go out with a bang.” He smiled at her as if he were standing right in front of her. 

**************************

**_Summers’ Residence_**

A knock at the front door brought Joyce Summers into the foyer from the dining room. She opened the door and was shocked to see Faith standing there. 

“Hi, Joyce,” Faith said with a false smile. 

Out of nowhere, Faith threw a punch that knocked Joyce to the ground and unconscious. Faith stepped inside the house and shut the door behind her. “Mind if I come in?” 

Faith pulled Joyce into a sitting position and then hauled the older woman over her shoulder, using her Slayer strength to lift her up and carry her upstairs to her bedroom. She sat the woman on the bed and went about tying her hands and feet together. Then she sat down at Joyce’s vanity and sifted through her make up drawer, sorting through lipsticks. Around this time, Joyce was coming to. 

“Tsk, tsk. Ruby Sunset,” Faith said, reading the labels and dropping the tubes to grab another, “Burgundy Skyline. Oooh, Harlot. Hmm. Way to go, Joyce.” 

At that moment, Joyce was shifting to sit up on her bed and lean against the headboard. There was a bruise forming on her left cheek close to her eye. She was eying Faith with a worried expression. She didn’t even feel this much fear when Spike was in the house last year or two years ago. 

“Now normally,” Faith was saying. “I wouldn't be going with a color this dark, but I read in some magazine, eight months in a coma will damage a girl's natural skin tone.” She carefully applied the lipstick. “Good thing pale is in this year. Or was it last year?” 

Faith stood up and leaned forward and kissed the mirror, leaving her lip print. 

“Anyway. For real, now,” Faith continued as she was watched Joyce through the mirror. She took her jacket off the back of the chair and put it on. “I'm gonna ask you something and you got to promise you'll be honest, and not spare my feelings just ‘cause I can kill you. You promise?” 

“I promise,” Joyce said solemnly. 

“Okay. How do I look?” Faith inquired as she turned to face Joyce. 

Joyce gave a dramatic pause before saying, “Psychotic.” 

Faith didn’t show any anger at the assessment. “Hmm. I was shooting for sultry, but hey. Bet I know what you’re thinking?” 

“Really?” Joyce asked, unconvinced. 

“You're thinking . . . ‘You'll never get away with this!’” she said dramatically. “Warm?” 

Joyce cocked her head to the side and stared straight at the dark Slayer. “Actually, I was thinking my daughter is going to kill you soon.” 

“Is that a fact?” Faith inquired. 

“More like a bet,” Joyce said matter-of-factly. 

“Whoa,” Faith said, smiling. “You got a pair on you, Joyce. I like seeing that in a woman your age.” She moved closer to the bed. “Guess you can afford to talk that way. I mean, in the world according to Joyce, Buffy is gonna come crashing through that door any minute.” 

Joyce didn’t acknowledge or deny that statement, though she was trying to remain calm. 

“But . . . look what I found,” Faith chirped as she grabbed a bundle of envelopes from the nightstand. She flipped through the pieces of mail ticking off each letter, “Buffy Summers. Buffy Summers. Buffy Summers. Buffy. Buffy. A lot of letters. She, uh, hasn't been by in a while, huh? And you'd think with a crazy chick like me on the loose -- crazy chick with a wicked grudge against her, no less – she’d call and give you a heads-up. But Buffy's too into her own deal to remember dear old mom.” Faith tossed the letters aside and stood up in front of the bed again. 

Joyce’s eyes narrowed at the haughty way this girl was conducting herself. “You don't know the first thing about Buffy. Or me,” she said. 

“Don't I?” Faith asked raising an eyebrow. “I know what it's like. You think you matter. You think you're a part of something and you get dumped. It's like the whole world is moving but you're stuck. Like those animals in the tar pits. It's like you just keep sinking a little deeper everyday and nobody even sees.” 

Joyce closed her eyes wondering when she would fall asleep listening to incessant Faith’s tirade. “Were you planning to slit my throat anytime soon?” she asked in a bored tone. 

Faith continued like Joyce had never spoken. “Don't tell me you don't see it, Joyce. You served your purpose. You squirted out the kid, raised her up, and now you might as well be dead! I mean, nobody cares! Nobody remembers! Especially not Buffy-fabulous-super-hero! Sooner or later you're gonna have to face it. She was over us a long time ago, Joyce.” Her anger was rising with each statement as well as her voice. “Too busy climbing onto her new boytoy to give a single thought to the people that matter! I mean, you're her mother and she just leaves you here to die!” Faith grabbed a large butcher knife she had left resting on the vanity and headed for Joyce. 

Behind her, the window shattered inward as Buffy dove through, taking Faith down in a tackle. She quickly rolled to her feet and slammed a fist down on Faith's face as the other Slayer tried to get to her knees. 

Buffy spared a glance at Joyce and called out cheerily, “Hi, Mom.” 

“Hi, honey.” Joyce was relieved to see her daughter. She didn’t know how much longer she would have been able to keep up the bravado. It wouldn’t have been long if Faith had succeeded in whatever plans she had for her with that knife. 

Faith was on her feet and Buffy turned just in time to block her backhand, but Faith followed through with a roundhouse kick and hit Buffy in the face. She tried to slam a knee into her midsection. But, Buffy blocked that and countered with an inward crescent kick that sent Faith stumbling back against the vanity. Buffy grabbed her from behind and pulled her out into the hallway. Joyce tried to keep an eye on the fight as she quickly reached for the phone and dialed 911. 

Out in the hall, Buffy still had the upper hand with Faith. She slammed the brunette into a closed door, hard. Faith faced her just in time to block a backhanded fist but Buffy grabbed that arm and sent her other fist into Faith's side, then brought her fist up into a backhand to her face in quick succession. Then, she swung Faith across the hall causing the other Slayer to slam face first into the wall by the open stairwell. Trying to recover, Faith raised a knee to stop Buffy's mid-level roundhouse kick and grabbed her by the shoulders. 

They struggled with each other, both of them slamming into the closet door and then rebounding across the hall. They fell into the stairwell where they slid headfirst down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, landing in the foyer, they rolled away from each other and came up in fighting stances. 

“Thought I'd go after the clean marine, didn't ya?” Faith asked with a grin. “He's a cutie. Looks like he could use a good roll in the sack.” 

Buffy launched an attack but Faith blocked her strikes. She countered with a right hook but Buffy ducked it. 

“You're not his type,” Buffy said. “He's not real big on sleaze.” 

Buffy attacked again, this time hitting Faith with several punches to the stomach and head. Faith managed to catch her arm on the last punch and slammed Buffy back against the dining room wall. 

“He's probably just never tried it,” Faith said, smirking. 

“Going for the boyfriend again?” Buffy asked sarcastically. “That's so tired.” 

“Just something to remember me by once I've moved on,” Faith said before she threw her fist straight at Buffy's head but the blonde ducked at the last instant and it went through the wall. She threw herself at Faith driving the brunette further into the dining room and sending her across the surface of the table, clearing it of the candles, a glass bowl of wax fruit, and knocking down chairs as she fell off the other side. 

“Did it ever occur to you, Faith that the reason we all forgot you is because we wanted to?” Buffy inquired. 

Faith was pulling herself up by holding onto the silverware cabinet. Enraged at hearing Buffy’s words, she grabbed a large flower vase and threw it. It hit Buffy in the side and shattered but she was unharmed. Faith pulled out one of the drawers and dumped all the silverware to the floor as she swung it at the blonde. As Buffy ducked the flying drawer, Faith snatched up a long two-pronged fork and attacked her. Buffy dodged the lunges and shoved Faith against the table. 

**************************

**_Giles’ Apartment_**

Giles opened the front door and stepped inside. As he closed it, he flipped the light switch but the lights didn’t come on. A second later the lamp on his desk is clicked on and Giles saw three men in leather jackets were in his home waiting for him. They are ‘The Team’ from the Watcher’s Council that had arrived earlier that night. And, they've made themselves at home. 

The man that Giles’ assumed was the leader of the group was sitting at his writing desk with a cup of tea in front of him. His two other companions were sitting on the bar stools. One was holding a drink in his hand. 

“Hello, Rupert,” the lead man said in greeting, casually lighting a cigarette. 

Giles let out a perturbed sigh. He was not happy to find that his home had been broken into by three goons from the Watcher’s Council. But he was a little worried as to why they were even in his home to begin with. 

**************************

**_Summers’ Residence_**

Back at Buffy’s house, the Slayer’s Match was still in progress as their enhanced abilities of strength and endurance that were meant to be used against demons was currently being put to the test against each other. 

Faith swung the two-pronged fork at Buffy's face but the blonde ducked away and it was buried in the wall. Before Faith could pull it out, Buffy grabbed her from behind, swung her around, and slammed her against the dining room table again. Faith quickly hit Buffy in the face with a back elbow, freeing herself. At that moment she heard the police and ambulance sirens approaching the house. 

“The cops,” Faith said angrily with a tinge of fear in her voice. She scrambled across the top of the table and ran for the living room. Buffy was right behind her. Too close it turned out as Faith reached the open doorway. She grabbed one of the glass-framed French doors and swung it in Buffy's face. The blonde crashed right through it and stumbled into the living room. She hadn't even regained her balance when she threw a left-right combination hitting Faith in the stomach and face. The action sent the brunette falling into the coffee table and onto the floor as the structure shattered under her. 

The flashing red lights of the police cars just arriving shone into the room through the gauze-curtained windows. However, both girls ignored it. Buffy tried to hit Faith again as she got to her knees, but Faith caught her arm, held onto her and drove her across the living room where she sent the blonde into the glass bookcase. 

Taking advantage, Faith pivoted with a roundhouse kick at her face but Buffy managed to block it and answered with a backhanded fist across Faith's face. Faith countered with another roundhouse kick, this time hitting Buffy and effectively knocking her down. She quickly reached the fireplace and grabbed something off the mantle. It was the Mayor's present to her. Faith slipped the rings of the device onto her thumb, index and fourth fingers, keeping the small device in place in her palm. 

Buffy was on her feet. She ran over to slam a left hook into Faith's face. She quickly followed that with a right hook, snapping Faith’s head back. Before she could hit her again, Faith grabbed her hand and held it tight with the small device clutched between their palms. A glowing light started to emanate from their hands as the device activated. Both women reacted as if hit by a shockwave. 

Buffy, who was now Faith, looked at their clasped hands. She looked up and seemed surprised as she stared at Faith, who was now . . . her. [Buffy] pulled her hand back and hit [Faith] hard in the face with a right hook, sending her to the floor, effectively knocking her unconscious. 

Just then, Joyce hurried into the living room. “You okay?” she asked whom she thought was her daughter. 

[Buffy] was still examining the strange device with an awed expression on her face. “All things considered,” she answered distractedly. 

“What is that?” Joyce asked, seeing the device. 

“A weapon of some kind,” [Buffy] replied. She threw it down on the floor and stomped on it with her boot. There was a flash of light as it was crushed. “Didn't work whatever it was.” 

At that moment, there was a loud pounding on the door. “Ah, the police,” Joyce said gratefully. 

[Buffy] looked at the front door then down at [Faith] who was lying on the broken coffee table. “She's their problem now.” 

Joyce nodded in agreement. “You're sure you're okay?” she asked concerned. 

[Buffy] pondered the question as she stared down at [Faith]. “Five by five,” she replied, tilting her head slightly as a grin started to form on her lips.


	14. Chapter 12-B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 12-B: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 12-B)_

**_Los Angeles_ **

This had to have been the worst week of Angel’s life. It seemed that his confrontation with Penn, which resulted in his psychotic childe’s dusting, had started a chain of bad karma. Staking one’s family always had that effect. Darla was always in the back of his mind and he had staked her nearly four years ago.

When does a stranger supersede your familial obligation? He had staked Darla as a way to save Buffy from his Sire trying to kill her. He had no real memory of when the thought had occurred to him to dust the woman who had damned him to an eternal existence.

There were no words to explain Darla. He had spent one hundred and fifty years with her. Heaven and Hell was his Sire. She promised one and delivered the other with a vengeance. She had delivered on her promise that she made when she turned him. She had shown him her world. It was cold and intoxicating and unforgiving. In the end, she had molded him into a perfect specimen of death and destruction, a perfect cohort made just for her. Every evil thing he had ever learned and exhibited while in her company only fueled her arousal and excitement for more and he had given it to her.

One hundred and fifty years of devotion to one woman -- _Was it devotion?_ Only to been turned out when she had discovered that he was cursed with a soul. With stake in hand, she had promptly banished him from the home and forbade him to seek out Drusilla and Spike to say farewell. His Sire was a cold-hearted bitch. He had come to the conclusion long ago that she was always that way even as a human. The demon in her just emphasized it more.

He had tried to stop her when he found her in Sunnydale. He had tried to steer both of the women in his life away from each other. How deep should familial obligation be when the person who was everything to you for over a century turns up out of the blue and demands their former place in your life? Darla had kicked him out of the family, just as she had done Penn years before. Yet there she was in Sunnydale and going after Buffy. It wasn’t a conscious thought to dust her. It just happened. One minute she was threatening Buffy with a pair of guns, the next he had a stake his hand and her dust all over him and the floor of the Bronze.

Then, there was Penn. Penn had forced his own banishment. Angelus had been the one to physically remove him, but it was Darla’s decision that made it so. Penn was the only one of his Childers who had tried to usurp his position as acting head of the family. Five years later, Penn had wanted to make a peace offering to him. They were to meet up in Italy when Angelus got held up in Rumania by gypsies. _Damn Darla and her gifts._

But, then Penn had shown up a few weeks ago. He was killing to lure Angel out. Two hundred years, you’d think a demon would be over issues of finding ways to get back at their mortal father, or Sire, for that matter. After all that time, Penn was still after some form of punishment or praise. The puritan was never clear on which he wanted most though.

The final straw was when his childe went after Kate Lockley. Angel and Kate may not have seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things, ninety percent of them in fact, but he didn’t wish her dead. Angel had tried to get Penn to stop. He had tried to get Penn to move on or go somewhere else that wasn’t Los Angeles. When his childe refused, Angel had no other recourse than to end his existence. And there was another family member’s dust covering him and the floor of the abandoned warehouse.

Somewhere in Angelus’ parenting skills there was a flaw. Maybe it was the lack of them to begin with. Penn had shown promise in the beginning but then turned out to be a disaster. Drusilla was a lost cause from the start of his obsession with her. She was already losing it with the visions, so driving the girl completely out of her mind had been no great feat. However, it was still enjoyable to Angelus to engage in the art of orchestrating someone’s demise. Such was Darla’s gift to his demon: the art of causing a person to self-destruct before you ended their life, or, in Drusilla’s case, prolonged it eternally.

Lastly, there was Spike. His boy, daresay, his pride and joy. The sane one of all his family, if you could call Spike that. The blonde vampire was never ambitious when it came to challenging Angelus’ role as head of the Clan. The boy never cared about who was in charge of the family. But then, he had also refused to capitulate under Angelus’ treatment. He had refused to be broken. Even as Spike idolized him, he had refused to let his Sire dominate him any more than he wanted to be dominated.

But then, Spike wasn’t actually his, was he? At least, he didn’t start out that way. Angelus took him from Drusilla. He had craved the beautiful, willful, stubborn boy. Spike was everything that Angelus had succeeded in beating out of Penn and Drusilla.

Wasn’t that why he had wanted the blonde vampire? Wasn’t that why Spike had become his Most Favored? Spike had so much energy and excitement with his status as a vampire. William the Bloody had gone from a limp-wristed, weak-willed young poet and intellect to a predator, a killer, with a demon’s strength and confidence. Spike reveled in it and Angelus couldn’t tame him . . . he couldn’t control him . . . yet, he still wanted to be near him.

It all came back to Spike. Angel had tried to hate the blonde vampire for how he turned out. He had honestly tried. But, ever since Parent-Teacher Night at Buffy’s high school, he couldn’t. Underneath all the anger and impetuous devil-may-care attitude that Spike carried now, all Angel saw was his Will.

When he was helping Buffy to stop his youngest childer, it was more of finding ways that she couldn’t stake his boy. Whatever feelings he and Spike had towards each other on any given minute, he did not want to see his childe dust. So what brought on this train of thought concerning family etiquette? Kate Lockley. It had brought to mind not only thoughts of his demon family, but his mortal family. Some days he could remember their faces as if he’d seen them only yesterday and other days they were lost in a whirlwind of the faces of his other victims.

His father had said he wouldn’t amount to anything as a human. Angel sometimes wondered if it were the same now that he was a souled vampire. He had lost all hatred for his father a long time ago. But, his father’s words still stuck in his head from time to time.

Had he made a difference since meeting Buffy? Had he even made a dent in the existential karmic chart that weighed his good deeds against his bad ones? It didn’t look like it. For every life he saved, Wolfram and Hart put another one in peril. Some days he didn’t know what he was fighting for. It couldn’t be to make the world a better place. He had traveled the world a dozen times over and there was always going to be something worse than what there already was. Doyle had called him a champion. Was he? If so, what did being a champion mean?

“ANGEL!” Cordelia screamed.

Before Angel could think on it anymore, Cordelia’s screaming had snapped him out of it. He jumped up and looked around for the danger. Seeing nothing he settled back into his chair and glared at the brunette standing on the opposite side of his desk. “What do you want, Cordelia? Did you get a vision?”

Cordelia threw up her hands in exasperation. “I was yelling your name and nothing. Either you were in deep meditation or you were brooding again. You’ve been staring into space for, like, two hours. Is something wrong?”

“Two hours? It couldn’t have been that long. I just sat down,” Angel looked at the clock on the wall and realized it had been that long ago. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘ _oh_ ’,” Cordelia agreed sarcastically. “You weren’t brooding about Buffy were you? ’Cause as I understand it, you two had decided to move on. And, did I hear right that you _claimed_ Spike?”

“No, I wasn’t brooding about Buffy. Where did you hear that I claimed Spike?” Angel asked distractedly. He rubbed his eyes feeling like he was just rudely awakened when he hadn’t even been to bed yet.

“Giles called and said so. The Sunnydale crew thinks you’re going to go all homicidal now that you and Spike are together,” Cordelia said with a nonchalant wave of her hand. Then she looked at Angel with her face scrunched in concentration and asked, “What does it mean that you _claimed_ Spike?”

 _Giles called? The Sunnydale crew thinks I’m turning evil? What?_ “Cordelia, yes, I claimed Spike. It’s complicated vampire stuff. I’m _not_ going to turn homicidal and Spike and I _aren’t_ together,” Angel explained as succinctly as possible. _Not yet, anyway._

“Well, it’s good that you aren’t going to be evil. I’d hate to have a repeat performance of chaining my boss to the bed again,” Cordelia said with an over exaggerated shiver. “But if you claimed Spike. Why aren’t you together? Why _did_ you claim him anyway? Angel, he’s a killer. Need I remind you that he had you chained to a ceiling and tortured you? Are you completely out of your mind?”

“Cordelia!” Angel said, grabbing the brunette’s attention from her tirade. “Vampires are different. A vampire claiming isn’t like a marriage. Well, I suppose it is. But, there are various levels of claiming. You don’t need to remind me of who Spike is or what he’s done. I know it all, I taught him to be what he is.”

Cordelia was giving Angel the ‘whatever’ face. Or was that her ‘get to the point’ face? He shook his head and hurried to explain, “I renewed my connection with Spike.” _And instigated a mating claim in the process. Don’t forget that, boyo_ , Angelus reminded him. “It’s a way to curb his tendencies. I opened my conscience to him as a way to control him. It’s just a connection with him.”

“A connection?” Cordelia asked. She raised her eyebrows. “Making a connection means you pick up the phone and call an old friend. What you just said . . . do you know how insane that sounds? You’ve mind-melded with a serial killer, Angel. You sincerely think that you can curb his nature through mind control? That is crazy!”

“I told you, it’s a vampire thing. Yes, I do think I can control him that way, and I can,” Angel stated. “I left him in Sunnydale to watch after Buffy and help her.”

“You _what_? Angel! You left him in Sunnydale to _watch after Buffy_? Have you had a momentary lapse of reasoning? He’s killed two Slayers in his lifetime – un-lifetime, whatever – and he has tried to make Buffy – who is the love of your life, mind you – his third Slayer on numerous occasions, and you _just left him there to watch after her_? He’ll kill her! What’s to say he hasn’t done it already?” Cordelia was onto a whole new tirade.

“Cordy, please!” Angel pleaded with her. “Calm down. I’m not insane. I’m not evil. I know Spike’s track record with Slayers. I still care about Buffy. But we all know I can’t be with her. That’s why I have Spike there,” Angel said.

When Cordelia opened her mouth to say something further, Angel held up his hand to stop her. “I have a connection with Spike now. If he were going to kill Buffy I would have felt it. I would _know_ that he had. It’s what the connection is. It’s like a tracker. If I open my mind to him, I can tell what his thoughts and feelings are. If it feels as if he would act on them I would stop him. Either by slipping into his mind or physically going up there to stop him.”

“You can’t be serious!” Cordelia managed to get out.

Angel let his head fall back against the seat. Then, he turned his head and looked at Cordelia. “As ‘evil’ as Spike is. He’s different than the rest of us. Angelus, Darla and Drusilla didn’t have any sense of humanity. Spike has kept some of his humanity when he was turned. It was that bit of humanity and the ability to love that made him care for Drusilla all these years. Between that and self-preservation for his un-life, he’ll be fine. If anything, Spike is loyal. He’s agreed to the terms and to the connection.”

“He’s a soulless demon,” Cordelia said.

“Yes, he is that. But, I told you. He’s different. Remember a couple of years ago, when Buffy sent me to Hell?” When Cordelia nodded, Angel continued, “Spike was the one that sought her out to help stop me from ending the world. _Evil, soulless Spike_ sought out the Slayer’s help to stop me.”

“He only did that for Drusilla, Angel. He didn’t do it for any other reason,” Cordelia said. She knew what happened. Buffy or Willow had told her what had happened.

“I know why he did it, Cordy. I’m just telling you, he did it because he cared for Drusilla. Spike doesn’t have a soul, but he still has a conscience and humanity in him that tempers him. If he has a task set before him, he does it. Right now, that task is to look after and help Buffy and he’s agreed to that.” This conversation was wearing him down.

Cordelia looked skeptical. “Fine. I hope you know what you’re doing Angel. Because if he so much as looks at us funny, I won’t hesitate to stake his lame bleached blonde 80’s-reject ass.”

Angel smirked at that. He didn’t doubt that she would have a problem with that. Of course, if he had his way, he would be the only one staking Spike’s ass . . . . _Whoa, don’t go there now with Cordy in the room. Otherwise you’ll have to explain a whole new problem about to rise._ With that thought he swallowed hard and said, “Fair enough.” _Did that sound like a frog croaking?_

Cordelia didn’t seem to notice the octave drop in his voice. She just nodded and left the room. Leaving him to brood some more he supposed.

**************************

**_Sunnydale, Summers’ Residence_ **

An ambulance was still parked on the front lawn of Buffy’s home with a police cruiser parked on the street with its lights flashing. Joyce and [Buffy] were standing on the lawn by the porch watching the ambulance crew wheeled an unconscious [Faith] to the waiting vehicle. She was strapped down the gurney. A plain clothed officer with his badge visible from his breast pocket stepped up to the two women.

“It’s a good thing that you called. We’ve been looking for this girl ever since she broke out of the hospital,” the officer told them.

“What’s going to happen to her?” Joyce asked concerned.

“We’ll get her checked out. She’s in stable condition, she’ll go to jail, pending a trial,” the officer reassured her.

“I just hope that she gets some kind of help,” Joyce stated.

“The first thing is to keep her from hurting anybody else,” the officer said. “You guys will be safe now. We may have a couple of questions in the morning.”

“Oh, uh, of course,” Joyce agreed.

“Well, thank you both. I’m glad we finally got the kid,” the officer said gratefully.

“She’s not a kid!” [Buffy] blurted out. When Joyce and the officer gave her a questioning look, she amended, “I just mean that she’s very strong.”

“Yeah,” the officer agreed. “This Faith chick –- definitely dangerous.”

The ambulance pulled away from the house and the officer walked away to leave as well. Joyce turned towards the front door, but when her daughter didn’t follow, she turned to watch [Buffy] watch the departing ambulance.

“She truly is,” [Buffy] said to herself.

**************************

**_Sunnydale Memorial Hospital_ **

The hospital personnel were being flung all over the room as they were trying to calm the manic female on the bed. An orderly fell back into the furniture; a doctor fell into his table of instruments.

“Let me go!” [Faith] had been screaming ever since she arrived at the hospital. No one would listen to her.

[Faith] continued to struggle in the hospital bed. There were three other hospital personnel, a uniformed officer and a plain clothed officer trying to hold her down.

“Get a me a sedative now!” the Doctor practically shouted at a nurse.

“I have to go home! She’s with my mother,” [Faith] begged.

The nurse had hurried back with a needle of sedative. The doctor carefully inserted the tip into [Faith’s] vein and pressed the plunger down.

“No!” [Faith] cried.

“Just lie still,” the Doctor told her.

“You don’t understand,” [Faith] said adamantly.

“Keep holding her down,” the officer barked.

“She’s taken my . . . my body,” [Faith] said as she slowly lost consciousness.

After [Faith] had been knocked out for twenty minutes, the police officers made preparations to move her to a holding cell downtown. Two officers removed her restraints, carried her out to a cruiser and deposited her into the backseat. The uniformed officer got into the driver’s seat and the plain clothed officer sat in the passenger seat as they drove down to the Precinct.

While the cruiser was en route to the station for booking, [Faith] was slowly regaining consciousness and gave a barely perceptible moan. However the officer in the passenger seat looked back through the cage that separated the front and back seats and told his partner, “She’s coming around.”

“Oh, yeah?” the driver asked disbelieving.

“Man, I want this kid’s constitution,” the plain clothed officer joked as he turned around to look out the windshield.

“Faith,” [Faith] moaned softly.

The plain clothed officer turned to his buddy and said, “Let’s get a move on it. I want to get her in before she’s one hundred percent.”

The uniformed officer nodded in agreement and pressed down on the accelerator. Just as they were about to turn a corner, a red armored van cut them off causing the police cruiser to crash into the vehicle. Two men in black clothing jumped out of the back, one used a gun to cover the two police offices, who seemed stunned. Another used an ax to smash the back window of the cruiser. The man holding the gun broke away the remnants of glass shards on the sides with his weapon. The man bearing the ax then proceeded to drag [Faith] out of the car through the broken window.

“By order of the Watcher’s Council, you are being taken into custody until such time --” Weatherly started to recite the Watcher’s Council ‘Miranda rights’ as he and Collins carried the girl back to the armored van.

“Skip the speech,” Collins growled as they pulled [Faith] into the truck and closed the doors. A second later the van sped away from the scene of the accident.

**************************

After [Buffy] checked in with Giles and ended up in a stuffy and boring Scooby meeting, she wanted to blow of some steam and relax. What better way to do that then a little fun with some possible side action of the groin-y kind and what better place to do than at the Bronze?

She found herself dancing with and flirting with nearly every boy she laid eyes on in the dance club. Blondes really did have more fun! She was starting to like this body change. Feeling the need for some air, she danced her way out of the cluster of hot bodies and immediately backed into Spike who sloshed his beer.

“Hey!” Spike said indignantly.

“Whoop.”

Spike recognized the blonde girl in front of him. He should, she had become a thorn in his bloody side ever since his Sire sent him back to Sunnydale to baby-sit her. Why did he get ‘baby sit the worst enemy’ duty again? Was a connection with one’s Sire worth all this hassle? Did Angel want to see him swiftly staked just for the sake of it? Resigning the thoughts to the back of his mind he gave off the effect of boredom when he acknowledged [Buffy] with, “Oh, it’s you.”

“And you,” [Buffy] gave a slight nod.

“What? Are you keeping tabs on me? You’re going to give me a hard time now?” Spike asked. He had been trying to keep tabs on _her_ but she was making it difficult. Damn Angel and the Sire-claim anyway. He shouldn’t have to jump through hoops after all this bloody time. He was over a century old. He and Angelus hunted women like her for a light snack _between_ meals. Now he was stuck making sure she stayed alive and away from this psychotic Slayer Giles and the whelp were going on about.

[Buffy] stared at the sexy, blonde vampire confused. “Um, do I usually give you a hard time?”

“Very funny. Well, as I’m sure you know, you don’t have to worry about me drinking. That is, unless you’re here to protect innocent beers,” Spike held up his bottle and walked away from her. He’ll continue to watch her at a distance like he had for the past couple of months. No harm, no foul, no stake through the heart.

[Buffy] followed him. “You’re a vampire.”

“Yeah, luv, you know that. You also know I can’t hurt you now,” Spike said through gritted teeth. _Damn Angelus!_ “So, why don’t you sod off and let me be.”

“Okay,” [Buffy] replied and turned away.

That seemed to piss Spike off more. The bloody blonde bint was mocking the fact that her former boyfriend had him leashed. ‘ _Don’t hurt her,’ says Angel_ ; ‘ _Watch out for her, says Angel_.’ _Turn me into a Slayer’s bloody lapdog is what he did. Have to go against my nature to **even try** and kill her because Angel wants me to baby-sit her, even when he started a mating claim on **me**._ Well his Sire could take his soddin’ claims and shove them up his—

Spike was stopped in mid-thought when he felt Angel slip into his mind and pull back on his proverbial leash. It was like his insides where being yanked back and wrapped around his spine, and then he heard his name whispered in a calm voice in his mind that promised a return of a soulless insane Angelus if he didn’t stop his train of thought. Spike’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he sighed resignedly.

“Oh, fine!” Spike said angry with both Angel for slipping in and [Buffy] for her nonchalance. “Throw it in my face! Spike’s not a threat anymore. ‘Since he’s being forced to protect me, I’ll turn my back. He can’t hurt me.’”

“Spike?” [Buffy] inquired curiously. “You were _forced_ to protect me? William the Bloody was _made_ to protect a Slayer? Who would care enough about a Slayer to enforce the Slayer of Slayers to protect one?” [Buffy] thought for a moment. _Who would care enough about the real Buffy to demand that Spike watch out for her?_ Then it hit her. Buffy may have forgotten and moved on to a college stud, but _Angel_ still loved her enough to pull a stunt like this.

When [Buffy’s] eyes lit up in realization, Spike scoffed. “You know why I really hate you, Summers?”

[Buffy] appeared to consider the question. “’Cause I’m a stuck-up tight-ass with no sense of fun?”

Spike appeared shocked at her own description of herself. “Well, yeah, that covers a lot of it.”

[Buffy] watched his reaction to the body she currently inhabited. “’Cause I could do anything I want, and instead, I choose to pout and whine and feel the burden of being the Slayer?” [Buffy] saw the heat flare in Spike’s eyes and moved closer to him. She dropped her tone to a sultry sound. “I mean I could be rich. I could be famous. I could have anything . . . anyone.” [Buffy] was now close enough to lay her hands on Spike’s chest. “Even you, Spike. I could ride you at a gallop until your legs buckled and your eyes rolled up. I've got muscles you've never even dreamed of. I could squeeze you until you popped like warm champagne, and you'd beg me to hurt you just a little bit more. And you know why I don't?” She pressed her body against Spike’s, looked up him through her lashes and pursed her lips. “Because it's wrong.” She laughed as she backed away from him.

There was something going on with the Slayer. The Buffy he knew would never consider flirting with the likes of him. Well, at least not unless she was under a spell or somewhat. When Spike made to follow her to either find out or make her deliver on her words, Angel must have felt it and taken his interest in the girl the wrong way. Because, one minute he had taken three steps to follow her and the next, his gut was being wrenched back again.

_Soddin’ hell Angel! Let me go, ponce. There’s something up with her. I just haven’t figured it out yet._

_She’s not a plaything for you, Spike. You are there to protect her, nothing more._

_Which is what I’m going to find out if you let me go, Angel. But, then again, maybe she does fancy me in which case you’ve got competition mate. Maybe she’s attracted to a soulless bad boy instead of the reformed one._

_Spike! You will **not** use Buffy for your personal sex toy. If you need a release masturbate, or you know where to find me._

Spike chuckled outwardly at that suggestion. _I can just see that. Show up in L.A. and explain to your pet humans why I’m there. ‘No kiddies. I’m not here to kill Angel, just here to shag him senseless.’ That should go over real well, Sire._

Spike could have sworn he heard a moan. _Whassat, peaches? Wouldn’t happen to be sporting timber for little ol’ me, would ya now? That would go against all your pet humans’ thoughts on how the Slayer was the only thing that could get you hard._

_God, Spike. You don’t know the half of it._

_You’ll have to enlighten me sometime, Peaches. Until then, I got to track down your girl and see what the hell is up with her. I think I can still catch her scent._

_Fine, but no thoughts of killing her off Spike. She has a sacred duty to uphold. She can’t do it if she’s dead by the Slayer of Slayers wanting to put a third notch on his belt._

_Okay. Okay. No thoughts of killing the blonde bint. Can still have thoughts of shagging her though._ Spike smirked at that.

 _Would rather you have thoughts of shagging me_ , Angel’s voice was barely audible in his mind.

_What was that mate?_

_Nothing. Nothing. Go. Find her. See what’s going on._

With that Angel released his hold on Spike and slipped out of his mind. Spike chuckled and headed out of the Bronze following the Slayer’s path.

**************************

**_Abandoned Work Shed somewhere in Sunnydale_ **

In the back of the armored truck, [Faith] woke up and found herself in shackles and chains. She shook her head to clear it. Her vision began to clear and she saw the faces of two strange men dressed in black.

“Well, it's awake,” Weatherly, sneered.

“Who are you?” [Faith] asked weakly as she was still coming out of her daze.

“Council. We're taking you back to the mother country. Seems you've been a naughty girl,” Weatherly said.

“Listen to me. Y-You've made a mistake. I am not Faith. I'm Buffy Summers. Faith performed some kind of spell, she switched our bodies,” [Faith] said slowly to make sure then understood her.

The man furthest from her, the one standing outside the truck scoffed at her. “Congratulations. No one's ever actually tried that one on me before.”

[Faith] was becoming frustrated. _Damn her Sister Slayer._ “You have to find Faith. C-call Giles. J-just get him here.”

Collins smirked. “Giles doesn't work for the council anymore. For that matter, neither does Buffy Summers. And what you are, miss, is a package. I deliver the package. I don't much care what's inside.”

Motioning Collins away from the van, Weatherly said, “Come on.” He turned to [Faith] and sneered, “He may not care, but I do. The Watcher's Council used to mean something. You perverted it. You trash. We should have killed you while you were asleep.” Weatherly spit in [Faith's] face before got out of the truck and closed the doors.

[Faith] sat in the dark van, contemplating her situation. When it was apparent they weren’t going to return any time soon she had slumped in her seat. She had to think of a way to get herself out of this. Resourcefulness came with being a Slayer, right? She just had to think. She had to get their attention again so that she could possibly escape. With that thought in mind, she started banging her feet against the metal floor and seat.

Smith walked toward the armored truck with a syringe. “This'll bloody well keep you quiet.”

Smith opened the back of the van and climbed inside. [Faith] grabbed him in a chokehold with her chains.

“Uh,” Smith moaned.

“How about this? I'll be quiet, and you can scream,” [Faith] suggested.

“Aaahh,” Smith screamed when [Faith] tightened the chains around his neck.

Weatherly and Collins turned away from their present task and looked in from the back of the truck.

When [Faith] saw that she had their attention, she calmly said, “Now you unchain me - very slowly _and_ politely, or I kill this guy.”

“When we go on a job, we always put our affairs in order first, in case of accident,” Collins told her.

“Collins . . .” Smith gasped out.

“Sorry, Smithy,” Collins said insincerely as he and Weatherly walked away.

“She's starting to bother me,” Collins whined.

“Getting her across the border is going to be a lot more trouble than it's worth,” Weatherly confirmed.

“If the council can even get us passage. I'll call them. It's time for a contingency plan,” Collins said just as Smith flew out the back of the van and falls, groaning and rubbing his throat.

**************************

**_UC Sunnydale, Riley Finn’s Dorm_ **

Riley sat at his desk going over some papers for Professor Walsh when he heard a sound behind him and turned to find [Buffy] standing in the doorway of his room. He smiled at her in greeting.

“Hi, baby,” [Buffy] greeted as she leaned against the door in a sexy pose. “Did you miss me?”

“I did, actually. Everything's ok?” Riley asked with lighthearted concern.

[Buffy] shrugged and walked toward him. “Everything's great.”

“What about Faith?” he inquired.

“Faith has a won a fabulous trip to England, and I,” She sat on Riley’s lap straddling him, “got the consolation prize, which is you.”

“So, I don't have to worry about Faith showing up?” Riley asked and then teasingly said, “Though I have to admit, I was kind of curious to meet her.”

[Buffy] laced her fingers with Riley’s and leaned back, still straddling him.

Riley watched her and felt his cock harden. “Or I was until about thirty seconds ago.”

[Buffy] sat up and stared at him. “Oh, you wouldn't have liked [Faith]. She's not proper and joyless, like a girl should be. She has a tendency to give in to her animal instincts.”

[Buffy] leaned forward and kissed Riley, nipping his lip.

“Door’s open,” Riley said between kisses.

“So?”

Riley sighed. “So, my fantasies don’t tend to include a bunch of marines staring in at me.”

[Buffy] perked up with an idea and a playful smile. “Oh, maybe they could learn something.” She kissed his neck and Riley pushed her off of him to stand. He went to the door and closed it. The effort to move jarred the pain in his left side and he put pressure on it to still the nauseous feeling.

[Buffy] took notice of it and pointed out, “You’re hurt.”

“Ahh, um, not that bad, actually. I guess the, uh, drugs the Professor gave me really did make me stronger. I’m healing pretty quick,” Riley reassured her.

“Maybe we should take you for a test drive,” [Buffy] playfully suggested.

“I wouldn’t say no,” Riley smiled and walked toward her.

“So . . . how do you want me,” [Buffy] purred. She crawled on the bed and turned back to look at Riley.

“How do I?” Riley was caught between confusion at the turn in his girlfriend’s mood and arousal at seeing the display of this new side of her.

“Yeah. What do you want to do with this body?” [Buffy] asked in sultry tone. “What nasty little desire have you been itching to try out? Am I a bad girl? Do you want to hurt me?” She put her arms around him.

Riley looked skeptical at her. “What are we playing at here?”

[Buffy] pouted and disentangled herself from him. “I’m Buffy.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Then I’ll be Riley.”

“Well, if you don’t want to play --” [Buffy] got off the bed and started to leave.

Riley grabbed for her as she walked past him. “Right. I don’t want to play,” he said before he leaned down and kissed her very gently. [Buffy] was so surprised by the tenderness she could do nothing but respond to it.

**************************

**_Abandoned Work Shed somewhere in Sunnydale_ **

“They can't get us passage. They've ordered the kill,” Collins said as he screwed a silencer onto a pistol.

“Torch the place?” Weatherly inquired.

Collins nodded. “Get the gas.”

Weatherly walked away to find a gasoline jug. Smith was still rubbing his sore throat. “She could've killed me. She didn't,” he squeaked.

“Lucky you,” Collins smirked. He opened the back door a little and stuck the gun inside, blindly aiming. [Faith] grabbed the pistol and his hands with her feet and pulled him into the truck hard enough to stun him before he could react. She pulled the gun closer to her hands and shot the lock of the chains holding her.

Smith was staring at the whole scene in wide-eyed shock. It took him a several seconds before he remembered that his feet could move and he ran away screaming, “Weatherly!”

[Faith] shoots at another lock and smashed into the driver’s cab of the van. She immediately started looking for the keys as Weatherly came running out to the van, “Stop her, you ponce!”

[Faith] located the keys just as Weatherly came rushing toward the van. When he got close enough, she opened the driver’s door into him and knocked him out. She went back to the task at hand inserting the key into the ignition and turning it. When the vehicle revved up she looked wildly at the gearshift. “Ok, I'm good at this.” She shifted the gear into neutral and it started to stall. “Ooh, drive.” She shifted to the correct gear.

Smith was scrambling around the building and found a gun. He stood in a stance that he saw in a James Bond movie once and shot at the van. It put a dent in the side of the vehicle but it didn’t slow [Faith] down as she drove the armored van through the wooden door and away from the place.

**************************

**_Giles’ Apartment_ **

Giles was coming down the stairs from the second floor carrying a plate and some cups when [Faith] burst into the living room.

“Giles!” she cried.

“God!” Giles shouted as the voice nearly scared him out of his skin. He turned and stared at the dark haired girl.

[Faith] held up her hands in surrender. “Don’t move. Ok, Giles, you have to listen to me very carefully. I'm not Faith.”

“Really?” Giles was skeptical. It looked like Faith. She could have been an identical twin if it wasn’t Faith. He looked at her with narrowed eyes, not sure he wanted to believe what he was seeing. Faith – or Faith’s body was standing in his living room and saying she wasn’t Faith.

[Faith] nodded, “Really.”

“’Cause the resemblance is striking,” Giles dryly observed. He inched closer to his weapons chest.

“I know. Giles, you just have to . . .” [Faith] noticed him backing away from her. “Stop inching! You were inching.”

Giles stopped in his tracks and cleared his throat. “Look, I-I know what you're going to say, and-and uh --”

“I'm Buffy,” [Faith] said cutting him off.

“All right, I didn't know what you were going to say,” Giles amended, “but that doesn't make you any less crazy.”

[Faith] rolled her eyes. “Faith switched. I mean she used this device. She switched our bodies. Giles, I swear,” she said adamantly running a nervous hand through her hair, “it’s me.”

“U-um, if-if you are Buffy, then,” Giles started to say as he set the plate and cups down on the bar. “Uh, then you'll let me tie you up w-without killing me -- until we find out whether you're telling the truth.”

[Faith] wanted to scream in frustration. “Giles, Faith has taken my body, and for all I know, she's taken it to Mexico by now. I-I don't have time for bondage fun. Ask me a question. Ask me anything.”

“Who is president?” Giles asked automatically.

[Faith] growled and said, “We're checking for Buffy, not a concussion.”

“Oh, yes, Alright. Um . . .” _How silly of me._

“Oh! Giles, you turned into a demon, and I knew it was you. I mean can't you just look in my eyes and be all intuitive?” [Faith] pleaded.

“Okay, then. How did I turn into a demon?” Giles asked.

[Faith] had to think about it. “Oh, cause, uh, Ethan Rayne. And-and you have a girlfriend named Olivia, and you haven't had a job since we blew up the school . . . which is valid lifestyle wise. I mean, it's not like you're a slacker type, but . . . Oh, oh! When I had psychic power, I heard my mom think that you were like a stevedore during sex. What? Do you want me to continue?”

Giles removed his glasses, cleaned them profusely and replaced them on his face. “Actually, I beg you to stop.”

“What's a stevedore?” [Faith] asked offhandedly.

“Alright!” Giles said louder. “Let’s – um, I need you to explain everything.”

“And I will, after we get Faith,” [Faith] was saying when she was stopped from saying anymore when a smoking blanket came barreling through the front door. The door slammed shut and Spike threw the blanket off himself.

“Giles, I can’t explain right now, but we have to find Buffy. There’s something seriously wrong with the bloody bint.”

“Spike?” Giles and Buffy said in unison.

Spike finally settled enough to take in his surroundings. Giles and [Faith] were staring at him in confused surprise.

“Oh, Buffy. You’re here!” Spike was relieved.

“You know it’s me?” [Faith] asked at the same time Giles asked, “You knew that was Buffy? How long have you known?”

“Only for a few hours. It took me a bit to figure out that blondie here wasn’t driving her skin around. I would have caught up with you sooner but my damn poof of a Sire decided he needed to have an inner conference.”

“Where did you last see me,” [Faith] cringed when she amended, “I mean, when the last time you saw my body was?”

“At the Bronze. You seemed to be quite the little flirt when you let your hair down, Slayer. I believe you wanted a go at me and I don’t just mean in a sparring kind of way,” Spike smirked.

“Ewww, gross Spike.” [Faith] said disgusted. _What the hell has Faith been doing with my body?_

“Oh like you haven’t thought about getting your hot little hands on lil ol’ me. Downright sexy I am,” Spike said indignantly even as he smirked.

Giles rolled his eyes and held up his hands. “Okay, enough!”

Just as he had quelled that conversation, Willow and Tara burst into the room.

“Giles!” Willow called out.

“Will!” [Faith] turned towards her friend.

Willow stopped short and stared at [Faith] as if she were a mirage. “Oh my God!”

“Willow, wait. You don't understand,” [Faith] sounded pleading.

“You're Buffy,” Willow said as cool as you please. “You and Faith switched bodies, probably through a Draconian Katra spell.”

“She understands it better than I do,” Giles mumbled to himself.

“I’m really starting to hate my life all over again,” Spike growled to himself as he flopped down in an easy chair.

“Shut up, Spike. No one’s talking to you,” [Faith] said flippantly. She turned to Willow. “How did you --?”

“Tara,” Willow said by way of explanation. She turned to her girlfriend. “Tara, this is Buffy, only really this time.”

“Hi,” Tara greeted shyly.

“Tara's a really powerful witch,” Willow said proudly.

“Not really,” Tara shook her head.

“No, really,” Willow said adamantly. “She knew right away that you weren't you. So we connected with the nether realms to find out what happened. And we conjured this.”

Willow pulled out a box and opened it revealing a green glowing item.

“What is--” [Faith] started to ask.

“It's a Katra. Or the home-conjured version,” Willow replied. “It-it should switch you back, if you can get a hold of Faith.”

“Oh, thank God,” [Faith] said gratefully when the telephone rang.

Giles picked up the receiver. “Hello? Oh, yes, uh, Buffy's here with uh, me. Actually, she – she’s uh – Oh, all right.” He hung up the phone and turned on the television.

“It was Xander. Apparently there's a report on the television.”

Giles shut up when the news announcer came on with, “. . . and barricaded themselves in the church with at least twenty parishioners. One of the few who escaped described the three men as frighteningly disfigured, almost inhuman. So far, one escapee has since died of severe neck wounds.”

**************************

**_Sunnydale Cathedral Church_ **

[Buffy] walked in and closed the door. The sound echoed through the room. The head vampire turned to face her. “I told the cops, they send anyone in, and I start the whole massacre thing.”

[Buffy] shrugged. “Well, I'm not the cops. I just come to pray.”

“Now’s a good time to start,” the Vampire told her.

“You're _not_ going to kill these people,” [Buffy] said in warning.

“Oh, yeah? Why not?”

[Buffy] stared at him squarely and said, “Because it's wrong.”

Of the three vampires in the church, the third made an attack at [Buffy] from behind and was thrown up in the air for his efforts. He flew back into a column and collapsed on the floor.

Witnessing the show of strength, the head vampire sneered, “You're the slayer.”

“The one and only,” [Buffy] smiled.

It had taken a while for [Faith] to get past the cops and Riley. At first she was happy to see him. She even so far as to hug him, but when he didn’t recognize her she gave up and squeezed her way past him to get inside the church.

Inside [Buffy] had dusted two vampires and was working on the last one when he broke her stake loose from her grip and threw her back against a pew.

“I have strength you couldn't dream of,” the Vampire gloated. He punched [Buffy] in the face. “Adam has shown me the way, and there is,” he was saying as he threw another punch. “Aahhh!”

At that second he turned to dust. When it cleared, [Faith] stood there with stake in hand. [Buffy] immediately leapt at her. They exchanged punches and [Buffy] attacked [Faith]. Being in the blonde’s Slayer’s body, [Buffy] was slightly quicker. She knocked [Faith] down but the brunette Slayer came back with an uppercut and knocked her back.

[Faith] stared up at [Buffy] and said solemnly, “You can’t win this.”

“Shut up! Do you think I’m afraid of you?” [Buffy] screamed. She grabbed [Faith] and threw her down, and then she sat on top of her and started punching her.

“You’re nothing. *PUNCH* *PUNCH* Disgusting. *PUNCH* *PUNCH*” [Buffy] grabbed [Faith’s] hair with both hands and began to bang her head against the stairs leading to the pulpit. “Murderous bitch.” *BANG* *BANG* “You're nothing.” *BANG BANG* [Buffy] started crying hysterically as she switched back to punches. “You're disgusting.”

[Faith] saw that the other Slayer was running out of steam and grabbed her hand to stop a punch. When their hands touched there was a bright green glow. Both Slayers backed away from each other. Each was now in their body. The real Faith jumped up and ran off. The real Buffy sat on the stairs in shock at being back in her own body and watched her leave.

Spike came into the church from a cellar door. He slowly walked toward Buffy and sat down beside her. “Buffy? Are you in there, pet?”

Buffy was still staring in the direction Faith had left in. She nodded but said nothing. Spike cautiously raised his hand and lightly rubbed her back. At least, outwardly it didn’t look like the crazy Slayer did too much damage. He stayed with her as long as he dared, disappearing just before Riley burst into the church to collect her.


	15. Chapter 12-C

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 12-C: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 12-C)_

**_Los Angeles_**

An intercity bus pulled up to a stop. The door opened and various passengers stepped out. Faith, wearing platform shoes and carrying a duffel bag, stepped out and walked along the bus. A few feet away a scruffy-looking man lit a cigarette watching her as she stepped into the light radiating from the streetlamp. Her face and arms were still bruised from her fight with Buffy. 

Just as Faith was about to pass the man, he spoke. “New in town, right?” He fell into step beside Faith as she kept walking. He always hung out at the bus stations. It was the one place that offered a variety of people to prey on. One look at Faith and he knew if he played his cards right, the sweet, innocent young thing would be easy pickings for him. 

When she didn’t answer, he prodded on. “You got that new-in-town look. This is a dangerous part of town this time of night for a young lady, you know? Lot of people down here try and take advantage of a situation like that. Especially if you don’t have any money or a place to stay – I might be able to help you.” 

Faith figured the only way to get the guy to shut up was to finally speak. “I’m cold,” she said in a small voice and shuddered dramatically. 

The man was pleased he was finally getting somewhere with the girl. A little warmth, a few sugary niceties and they were putty in his hands. He hurried to shrug out of his leather jacket. “Oh, yeah? Warm is my middle name.” 

Without warning, Faith jabbed him in the stomach, then punched him in the face. She kept up the barrage, hitting and kicking him until he was unconscious. She crouched over the body, taking his keys and wallet out of his jacket. 

Faith wrinkled her nose in disgust as she stood up. “Now I got money and a place to stay.” She pulled off his jacket and put it on. Looking around to see if anyone had seen her, she walked away. “I think I'm going to like it here." 

**************************

**_Los Angeles County Courthouse_**

Angel, Cordelia and Wesley were stepping out of an elevator. Angel was pleased with himself. The case was another win for their side, another aggravation on the side of Wolfram and Hart. The look on Lindsey’s face when he had shown up with that kid to testify was priceless. When he walked out of the courtroom, Cordelia had wasted no time in pouncing on him with another case. He had asked what the case was, but so far she had been sidelining him. Instead of answering, Cordelia had been hitting him with the perks of the case, hoping to wear him down. 

“. . . And he is kind of a busy man, so lunch was the only time he had free. True, it’s not the kind of case I’d normally go after, but we’ve got to consider the bottom line,” Cordelia was saying. 

Angel walked down the corridor. “What kind of demons are we dealing with?” _Rugada? Three-horned demon slugs? Possessed children who are already evil even without the possession? Whatever happened to a good old common vampire? I haven’t killed one of those in a while._

Cordelia cringed at the question. “Well, it’s not exactly a demon thing.” 

“What kind of . . . thing is it?” Wesley asked curiously. 

Cordelia ducked her head and quietly replied, “It’s a kind of . . . husbandandwifebreak-upthing.” 

Both men looked confused for an instant before Wesley nearly shouted, “A divorce case?” 

That stopped Angel in his tracks. He turned and looked skeptically at his secretary. “You’re kidding. Tell me you’re kidding.” What was she thinking? He saved souls from the things that preyed on them in the night. He _did not_ save them from their ex-spouses in a divorce case. No wonder Cordelia had been laying the butter on pretty thick since they left the courtroom. 

“What’s wrong with a divorce case?” Cordelia asked petulantly. 

Angel had a flash of Spike in his mind with the way she had asked that. His boy was adorable when he was irritable. It was the sound that went with a pout similar to what Cordelia wore now that made him itch to lean over and kiss him – Spike, not Cordelia. His secretary was another matter. She had changed tremendously from her Queen Bitch of Sunnydale days. Angel was proud of the way she was turning out. However, he was not pleased with what she was trying to talk him into. 

“That’s not what we do, Cordy,” Angel reminded her. 

“According to the husband the wife is a real witch,” Cordelia pouted even more. Angel wanted to laugh at her expression, but he refrained from it. 

Wesley shook his head. “It seems a bit on the seedy side.” 

Cordelia turned to Wesley, offended that he would suggest such a thing. “This is not seedy! He’s in government!” She turned pleading eyes to Angel. “Just talk to him. Oh, and we should pick up the tab for lunch. Nothing says success less than splitting the bill.” 

Angel thought he’d better revise that to Cordelia being a work-in-progress. She was still hung up on material items such as money. It wasn’t that he was broke per se. He just didn’t have any money on him. All the money Angelus had accumulated over the years was locked away in Swiss bank accounts. And, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t touch it, it was just that he didn’t feel right about using it. It was ill-gotten greenbacks from his kills, the same kills that were now torturing his conscience. 

Angel’s lips thinned and he shrugged. “I didn’t bring any money with me.” 

Cordelia rolled her eyes, _‘so typical of him’. A person would wonder how he’d gotten by this long, dealing with a tortured soul, without the need for money._ “Okay, Elvis. When you are a big star you can get away with not carrying any cash. And while we’re on the subject,” she looked at Angel coyly as she said, “I think one of us should apply for a small business loan.” 

Behind Angel stood Faith lining up her cross bolt with the vampire in front of her. Meanwhile, Cordelia had rushed to explain, “Just to get us through the rough spots.” Faith had zeroed in on her target, sighting Angel’s back where his heart was located before she pulled the trigger. “I mean what’s a thirty-year loan to you?” Cordelia was asking. 

Angel’s vampire hearing caught the cocking sound of the cross bolt and turned as Faith took the shot. He caught the quiver in midair just as it reached his chest. 

“That was so cool!” Faith smiled, genuinely impressed with the trick. “This is going to be fun!” She turned on her heel and ran out through the front doors of the courthouse and into the sunshine. 

“Oh. My. God. Faith,” Wesley said as his jaw hit the floor in shock of seeing the rogue slayer. 

Angel stared after Faith and then looked at the arrow still in his hand. “I thought she was in a coma.” 

Cordelia was staring in the direction Faith had gone as well in equal shock. “Pretty lively coma.” 

**************************

**_Sunnydale, Giles Apartment_**

The Scooby gang was sitting around discussing the aftermath of Faith’s visit. Spike was there, but to say he was participating was an understatement. As far as he was concerned Buffy was back in her own body and just fine. That’s all his ‘job’ required of him. He was reluctantly helping her and that was as far as he was taking it. 

The phone ringing quieted the conversation. Giles was buried in research books. He looked up and saw Spike doing nothing constructive. “Answer that, will you?” 

Spike rolled his eyes and lumbered out of the easy chair. He grabbed the receiver up and greeted a gruff, “’Ello.” 

“Spike?” Angel’s voice sounded surprised. 

“Yeah, mate. What’s up?” Spike said in a bored tone. 

“Um. Uh. Didn’t expect you to be at Giles’,” Angel stammered a bit. 

“Well, m’ job description was to baby sit the Slayer, so ‘m here,” Spike said. 

“Spike, when I told you to look after Buffy, I meant to help her when she needs it. I didn’t mean for you to stand next to her every second,” Angel chuckled. 

“Well then, you should have been clearer, ponce,” Spike retorted. 

“Seriously, Spike, what’s been happening up there?” Angel asked solemnly. 

“Oh man, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” Spike replied. 

“I probably won’t but tell me anyway,” Angel said. 

Spike sighed before launching into what had happened last week with Faith and Buffy. “Okay, well, Faith is out of a coma. From what I could understand of the Scoobies’ tale: the first thing she did was beat up some girl and stole her clothes. Then she terrorized the town a bit, yeah. She met up with Buffy on the college campus and later held Joyce hostage. When the Slayer showed up to rescue her mum, she and that crazy bint had an all-out brawl through the house. They ruined Joyce’s good China and silverware. Ungrateful kids have no respect for --” 

“Spike? You might want to refocus here. What happened? Is Buffy okay?” Angel said sternly trying to get his childe back on track. 

“Oh, yeah. Fine. Anyway, they fought and Faith did some kind of mojo thing with a draconian device of some kind that switched their bodies. So, the murderous bitch was running around town in Buffy’s body reeking havoc, bloody hilarious it was,” Spike was explaining when he heard a growl. 

“Faith was running around in Buffy’s body and you didn’t do anything to stop her?” Angel growled. 

“It wasn’t like I can walk around during the day, you ingrate. I’m here to watch out for her, remember? I didn’t know any of this went down until after the fact!” Spike shouted into the phone. 

“You’re the one that said you were attached to Buffy at the hip! Why didn’t you stop her?” Angel yelled back. 

“Bloody hell, Angel. I didn’t know any of this had happened. I had an inkling that something was different about your soddin’ girl, but before I could follow her some bloody ponce decided to have a meeting of the minds in the middle of the bleedin’ club and I didn’t catch up with the girl. So I went to Giles and Buffy was there in Faith’s body. What the bloody hell do you want from me Sire?” 

“I want you to help and protect Buffy so that she has a longer life than other Slayers, and you failed to even do that much!” Angel was still yelling. 

“Fuck you, Angel! I did what you asked me to. Buffy’s fine. She’s a little shaken up but what do you expect when you’re teleported from body to body? If you think I’m doing such a bang up job with your girl -- who I might remind you is fighting me every step of the way -- then you can come back here and soddin’ watch her yourself!” Spike yelled back. 

“God, Spike. I really do . . . want to fuck you,” Angel whispered huskily. 

Spike growled low into the phone upon hearing his Sire’s words and the images they brought to mind. “I know,” he said roughly. 

Angel cleared his throat. “What can you tell me of Faith and why she’s here in L.A. on a vengeance kick?” 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel Investigations_**

Angel hung up the phone in his office. Wesley and Cordelia stood around his desk waiting expectantly for an answer as to why Faith was in L.A. They had heard the tail end of Angel’s side of the conversation when he talked to Spike. While the news that Spike was helping Buffy was old to Cordelia, it was fairly new to Wesley. 

“I don’t understand why William the Bloody is running free in Sunnydale and not put out of his misery,” Wesley said. 

Angel sighed. He had already been through this with Cordelia. Wesley would just have to accept a quick explanation of what, why and how Spike wasn’t out to kill Buffy. Angel was still upset with his childe for not getting to Faith before she switched bodies with Buffy. But, he also couldn’t fault him for how Spike handled the situation once he had an idea that something was going on. As for explaining things to Wesley, that would have to wait, because Faith was the bigger priority right now. 

“Spike is there because I wanted him there to help Buffy. Look, Wes, the longer explanation will have to wait for another time when there’s not a psychotic slayer after me or you’ll have to get it from Cordelia.” When he received a curt nod from the ex-Watcher, Angel went on. “Spike said she left Sunnydale about a week ago. The way he described how things went down up there, her mental state is borderline psychotic. To hear him tell it, ‘the daft bint has already been around the bloody bend twice’.” 

Cordelia thought about it for a moment. “That explains her outfit.” 

“This isn’t right,” Wesley said out loud. 

Cordelia cocked her head at the man pacing the room. “When a whacked-out Slayer tries to kill your boss – it’s very wrong.” 

“I meant Giles,” Wesley said, waving his hand absently. “Why didn’t he give me the heads-up? I was Faith’s watcher. When she came out of the coma, Giles should have contacted me immediately.” 

Cordelia shrugged. “Maybe he was too busy trying to keep her from – I don’t know – killing everybody?” 

Angel rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. Cordelia and Wesley’s bickering was starting to become age-old and tiring. They were constantly pecking at each other. Sitting back in his chair he broke in to the latest round, “Spike said the Sunnydale gang didn’t know she was coming after me. Giles was worried about Buffy.” 

There was the odd occasion when Spike would be serious with him. This had been one of those times. The thought that the claims might have had something to do with the blonde vampire’s congenial mood lifted Angel’s spirits somewhat despite the current situation. It may not mean that they had totally solved all their problems, but they were maybe taking a huge step toward mending a few fences. 

“Is she okay?” 

Cordelia voice broke through Angel’s thoughts of Spike. _Is who okay? Oh . . . Buffy._ “Yeah.” 

“What can we do?” Cordelia sounded genuinely concerned. 

Angel looked around his desk and trying anything to distract himself from thoughts of his boy during the present crisis. He stood up and moved around the office determinedly. “Uh. Help me track her down. I want you two to check police reports – beatings, killings – anything within the last week, possibly near bus stations and bars. After that, make yourself scarce. I don’t want to give her any free targets.” 

“You’ve been targeted by a psychotic!” Wesley pointed out. “I’m certainly not going to run and hide.” 

Cordelia looked skeptical at Wesley and then at Angel. “I like the plan where I’m scarce.” 

“We’ve got to band together. Strength in numbers,” Wesley stated. 

“Two is a number,” Cordelia said flippantly. 

Angel leaned against his desk facing his co-workers and shook his head. He wouldn’t put them in danger like this. He lost Doyle. He won’t risk losing them too. “She’s coming for me. I’ve got a fight coming up. I don’t want you to get in the line of fire.” 

“I thought we were a team,” Wesley said petulantly. 

Angel ground his teeth at Wesley’s inability to see reason. “We’re not a team. I’m your boss. You go where I tell you and I tell you to lay low.” 

“It seems you’re taking this personally,” Wesley said, concerned. 

“Well, you know, she tried to shoot my own personal back, so yeah,” Angel said angrily. 

Having only arrived at the end of the conversation Angel had with Spike. _I still can’t believe Spike is helping!_ Wesley asked, “Did she do something to Buffy?” 

Angel ran a hand through his spiky hair. “Spike just said it was rough.” 

“I’m sorry that happened. But, if you let emotion control you right now, one of you will certainly end up dead.” Wesley was now trying to get through to Angel the dangers of going up against a rogue Slayer. 

“Yeah, that’s what the lady wants,” Angel said humorlessly. 

Wesley was angry now. Angry that Angel wanted to go after her and stop her any way he could even if it meant the girl’s death. “That’s not good enough! She’s not a demon, Angel! She is a sick, sick girl. If there is even a chance she can be reasoned with . . .” 

Angel growled his anger. “Don’t you dare start with me, Wes? There was a chance. Last year I had a shot at saving her. I was pulling her back from the brink when some high-handed British guy took it upon himself to kidnap her and made damn sure she’d never trust _a living soul!_ ” 

Cordelia had watched the whole argument play out. She had seen Wesley goad Angel and now she was seeing her boss’ eyes turn into the color of his demon as he tried to suppress his anger. She was in the dark a little on the history between Angel and Wesley concerning the psychotic Slayer. 

“Angel, it’s not Wesley’s fault that _some_ British guy ruined your . . . oh, wait,” she said as it dawned on her what they were arguing over. She turned to Wesley and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “That was you!” She turned back to Angel and waved her hand. “Go on . . .” 

Wesley was deeply saddened that Angel had pointed out his shortcomings with the Faith debacle from last year. He knew he had screwed up in more ways than one in being a Watcher. He had meant to ask how Giles handled Buffy’s insubordination so skillfully. But, he was fired from the Council before he got the chance to talk to the other watcher. Now, it seemed as though the man thought so little of him as to not warn him that Faith was out of a coma and terrorizing everything in her path, including his current boss. 

“You don’t need to,” Wesley said, hanging his head in shame. 

“Let’s get to work,” Angel said as he pushed away the desk and walked out of the office. 

**************************

Angel opened his weapon cabinet and searched for something that would take down a rabid Slayer with the least amount of lethal force. As he was handling a few weapons, mentally gauging their destructive level, he heard a noise from upstairs. Cordelia and Wesley left a few minutes ago, so he knew no one was upstairs . . . unless one of them forgot something. He closed and locked the cabinet before using the stairs to get to the office. 

Seeing no one in his office, he stepped out into Cordelia’s reception office – _Would it be called reception knowing that Cordy wasn’t actually receiving anyone unless they had money and drove a BMW?_ Someone opened the blinds in the outer office as Angel walked towards it, flooding the room with sunlight. 

“Hey, baby! Come give us a hug,” Faith taunted. 

Angel stopped inside the doorway leading from his office and leaned against it. “I was hoping you’d stop by. It’s always good to see old friends.” He was taking a bit by surprise when Faith pulled a revolver on him and cocked it, but not terribly surprised after what happened in the courthouse earlier. “What’s this? Wooden bullets?” 

“Ooh, good idea! But no, this is for you. You know, I’m going to kill you slowly and inventively. So, with that in mind, I’m going to give you one chance to . . .” Faith tossed Angel the gun. He caught it and immediately shot her in the right leg. Faith laughed at the sudden turnaround. 

“Blanks,” Angel stated. He tossed the gun back to her. “Nice.” 

Faith shook her head as if she were disappointed in Angel’s performance. “You didn’t shoot to kill. We’re going to have to up the stakes, get you in the game a little.” 

Angel lifted a brow and stepped cautiously towards her. “What’s the game exactly, Faith? Boredom? Revenge?” 

Faith seemed insulted by the very idea. “Dude, I’m getting paid. They hate you almost as much as I do.” 

“Did it ever occur to you that this might be more fun for me?” Angel asked as he continued to walk closer to her. 

This time Faith cocked an eyebrow. “You think? Because what happens if you kill me and you experience that one true moment of pleasure? Oops! I’d get off on that. Go ahead. Do me. Let’s take that Hell ride together. Come on, Angel. I’m all yours! I’m giving you an open invitation,” Faith taunted him. When he didn’t make an advance on her, she sneered at him. “Jeez, you’re pathetic! You and your little tortured soul. You just got to think everything through. Well, think fast, lover. If you don’t do me, you know I’m going to do you!” 

Faith took aim and pulled the trigger. Angel staggered back against the doorway under the impact as the bullet hit his chest and gasped with the searing pain. He may be dead and virtually indestructible outside of anything holy and stakes, but being run through with a weapon of any kind – be it hot pokers or a bullet – was painful as hell. He stared at Faith as his brain tried to register what happened and store it for later brooding. 

“Gosh. That one wasn’t a blank,” Faith shrugged and smiled. “Let the games begin.” With that she jumped out through the window, shattering the glass. 

_Oh, great. Cordelia isn’t going to be happy when she gets back and finds that we have to replace another window. Why do they always have to come in and go out through the window? Whatever happened to using the front door?_ He thought – or maybe it was brooded – as he went in search of a First Aid kit he kept around . . . somewhere. Since Cordelia became his secretary, he hadn’t been able to find anything where he thought he left it. 

He located the First Aid kit and sat down at his desk. Prying a bullet out of oneself would work better if the person _actually_ had a reflection and could see what they were doing. As it was, Angel had to feel around for the slug and pry it out. The only ways to describe it was having someone cut you open and operate on you, sticking things inside you while you were still awake. _God, this hurts!_

Angel felt the link between him and Spike slip open. 

_Are you okay, peaches?_ Spike’s voice sounded concerned. But, was it sincere or not? 

_I’ve been shot in the chest with a revolver. How do you think it feels?_ Angel replied agitated as he still felt around for the bullet. 

_Yeah, I felt the pain of it from here,_ Spike said. 

Oh. The link tied them together. Not only could they feel the other’s emotions. They could take on the other’s pain. Psychic links were a bitch sometimes. Angel hoped Spike was safely in his crypt away from the others when he was shot. He could just image the strange looks and curious questions thrown at Spike if his boy were with the Scooby gang when the bullet hit. 

_I’m sorry, Spike,_ Angel grated out as he finally located the bullet and proceeded to work it out of his body. 

_Angel? What are you doing? You sound strained,_ Spike commented. 

_Trying to get this bullet out of me! Fucking hell this hurts!_ Angel swore. 

_I imagine so. Uh, shouldn’t you be letting someone else take it out of you? The cheerleader maybe? She’d make a cute nursemaid_ , Spike teased. 

_Cordy’s squeamish with this sort of thing. AH! Got it! Besides, no one’s here._ Angel’s inner voice was back normal now that he had removed the offending object from his body. He tossed the bullet on the desk and gingerly leaned back in his chair to relax and let the wound heal. 

_Oh. So, where are they? Who shot you? Was it a jilted lover?_ Spike continued to be his annoying self now that his Sire was fine. 

_I sent them out to collect information. It was Faith who shot me and I don’t think it had anything to do with jilted love,_ Angel said. 

_Faith? She’s there? What kind of game is she playing?_

Spike was shocked if not a little pissed that the psychotic Slayer tried to take a shot at his Sire. Angel was his to fight with. Angel was his to do in if he really wanted to. What was that crazy bint thinking when she tried to off a Master Vampire? 

_From what I got out of her before she shot me . . . again . . . and took off was that someone hired her to go after me. Someone who hates me as much Faith does right now. She went out the window and shattered it. That was a $350.00 window. Cordelia’s going to stake me when she comes back to see that._

_Are you listening to yourself, Peaches? An insane Slayer is out there trying to kill you. Someone paid her off to do it and you’re worried about the cost of replacing a window?_

_Well, windows are really expensive to continually replace_ , Angel pouted. _I’ve had to replace them a few times already. It’s starting to get tedious._

_Do you know who paid her to kill you?_ Spike asked. 

_Yeah. I have an idea. Wolfram and Hart probably offered her a deal . . . off the books of course. They’ve been a thorn in my side for a while now. Their poster boy, Lindsey McDonald has made it his life’s mission to make my life hell. And, hey! Already been there._ Angel quipped. 

_Are you going to turn him?_ Spike teased. 

_God, no!_ Angel scoffed. _He reminds of you in a way and I could only handle one of you._

_Bloody special I am. That Lindsey bloke might try to be like me. But, I’m the only one that can pull it off as successfully as I do._ Spike curled his tongue behind his teeth and grinned. 

Angel rolled his eyes. Yep, he could only take one of Spike in a lifetime. He didn’t need two. _Are you done stroking your own ego, Spike? I may not be able to see your face during these conversations, but I can feel you smirking, boyo._

_Bloody cute and adorable I am. Everyone loves me._ Well, Angel brought it up. Spike might as well milk it for all it was worth. 

_Oh, yeah? How’s that work?_ Angel asked with a touch of humor. 

_My good looks, my devilish charm, my witty comments, my sex appeal, my accent. Who could resist me?_ Spike chuckled. 

Angel nearly choked. Give the boy an inch he takes four miles. _Since when were you ever charming? Your witty comments and accent are appalling. I don’t know about your sex appeal these days. But, you may have something with your looks if you hadn’t dunked your head in a vat of peroxide too long. I think the chemicals you use to keep that color are screwing with your mind, my boy._

_Says the pouf who uses more mousse than a supermodel,_ Spike retorted. 

_I do not!_ Angel was indignant. 

_Do too._

_Do not!_

_Do too!_

_Not!_

_Too!_

_Spike when I get my hands on you –_

_You’ll what? Shag me? I’d enjoy it too much for it to be a punishment._

_I’ll chain you to the ceiling and whip a layer of skin off your hide, boy!_

_Ooh! Foreplay!_

_You’re impossible you know that?_

_You raised me, Sire,_ Spike smirked. 

_Were you always like this? I remember you were so meek and mild that I had to literally scare you to bring your demon out to feed_ , Angel said. 

_Ack! Take that back! I was **never** meek or mild!_ Spike said incredulously. 

Angel chuckled. _I have to go and clean the glass up Spike. I’ll check in on you later. ___

_Okay, peaches._ With that Spike cut the link off. 

Angel shook his head and stood up slowly testing out the healing wound. He went in search of a broom -- again with Cordelia rearranging things. As he swept up the broken shards, he thought about what Faith told him and decided it had to be Wolfram and Hart that hired her. Where else would they have found an assassin on such short notice after today’s verdict over the Marquez case? He made plans to pay a visit to Lindsey after he was done cleaning up. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Wolfram & Hart_**

Angel waited until nightfall. As predicted Cordelia was not happy when she pressed speed dial for the window repair shop. He had gotten an hour-long lecture on the cost of windows and how if Cordelia were actually famous right now she wouldn’t have to deal with this type of situation and how Angel was lucky to have her services. Although she couldn’t make coffee, she could barely type, she rarely answered the phone even when it was a business call and the filing system hadn’t fared much better. 

Angel shook his head as he entered Lindsey McDonald’s office. He walked over, sat at the desk and shuffled through the papers strewn across the surface. As he was going through a sheaf of folders, Lindsey walked in. He wasn’t surprised to see Angel there. Somehow the vampire always found a way past the vampire detectors. 

“Don’t you have any respect for man’s law?” Lindsey chided. 

Angel looked around the spacious fifth-floor office. “Very nice. Good view.” He stood up and looked over a spectacular view of the city before turning towards Lindsey and nonchalantly asking, “Where is Faith?” 

“Should I know what you’re talking about?” Lindsey raised an eyebrow feigning innocence. If there was one thing Wolfram and Hart thrived on it was plausible denial. 

Angel nodded. He expected the denial right off the back. “Your new employee.” 

Lindsey stared straight and Angel when he said, “It’s a big firm. Tell you what I can do. I can give you the number for personnel. I’m sure they’d be glad to handle your problem.” 

“Uh huh. You’d remember her. Pretty, dark hair, likes to kill things?” Angel described. 

“I assure you that we have strict hiring practices,” Lindsey said seriously. 

Angel’s eyes narrowed as Lindsey continued to block his questions. “So how does it work for a guy like you? Successful lawyer in a big law firm, company car, and nice office – and hey, a bonus: can hire a killing whenever you want. Kind of got it made.” 

“Well, we’ll just add slander to breaking and entering. While we’re on the subject, I seem to remember you throwing one of my clients through a window. Killed him if I’m not mistaken,” Lindsey pointed out. 

“Yeah. I remember,” Angel said. He turned around and pointed to the window behind him. “The window was just about that size,” he made a sad sound as he faced Lindsey again. “Too bad the body burned up before it hit the ground. I might have needed a good lawyer.” 

Lindsey feigned disappointed as he said, “I’m sorry; we only handle a certain class of clientele.” 

“Oh. Well, I’m sure that I’ve killed enough people to qualify. Where is she?” Angel demanded. 

“You know a vampire can’t walk in here without us knowing about it. We have a highly sophisticated security system, spent a fortune on mystical barriers and such. Nice to know our investment paid off,” Lindsey sneered. 

Angel saw the security guard coming at him in his peripheral with a stake at the end of a modified shotgun. He grabbed the man and slammed him down on the table hard enough to knock him out. 

Angel shrugged. “I think it was a waste of money myself.” 

Lindsey grinned. “Well, one down. More are on the way. And the police have been called. And this whole encounter has been visually recorded on hi-def. So, despite the fact that I’m sure it would make for an entertaining evening watching you fight for your life – not to mention the fortune I could make off the video – I do have a dinner to attend.” 

Angel picked up his briefcase and walked up to Lindsey. “Good to see you again, Lindsey. We’ll do this _real_ soon.” 

As Angel walked out Lindsey turned to him and sucked in his cheeks in an amused smile. “You know, just when I think I got you figured out, you show up in a suit.”


	16. Chapter 12-D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 12-D: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 12-D)_

**_Angel’s Apartment_**

Well, he had found Faith, but not before she had terrorized the city, beat up Cordelia and kidnapped and tortured Wesley. He told his co-workers that they didn’t have to show up for work all week maybe more. When Cordelia started to protest, Angel pointed out that he had been surviving on his own for the bulk of his life – well, un-life anyway – and he could very well handle himself for a few weeks while they healed and he dealt with Faith. 

It never occurred to him that his idea of doing just that was different from those around him. At this point, Cordelia and Wesley saw what the Sunnydale crew saw when they looked at Faith. She was a murderer that had no chance at redemption. 

But then, all Angel saw was a soul that needed saving and maybe in saving hers he could possible try to save his own. He and Spike had discussed what having a soul meant for him in several of their inner conversations. His childe claimed to understand the goal but not the motivation. Spike didn’t think that helping every downtrodden person he came across would ever accomplish anything but ungrateful sentiments. But, then wasn’t that all Spike got from everyone around him from his own peers as a human to the Scooby gang now? 

Angel shook his head to clear it. He couldn’t think of Spike now. He had to find a way to help Faith before she succeed in losing herself forever. He had to sideline her before she continued to travel down the road she could never come back from. He knew where she was headed. What was Angelus’ body count, somewhere in the thousands? Just because he was cursed to remember every one of them, didn’t mean he had kept an exact number. Vampires had photographic memories; it didn’t mean they were good with the numerical aspect. 

One should not think of these things while in the shower. After holding Faith during her breakdown in the rain, he had brought her back to the apartment. Wesley had objected to that course of action. He told Angel that Faith was like a rabid dog that needed be put down. Angel didn’t argue with him. Wesley had spent hours with her torturing him. Angel could see where he could have that point of view now. 

But Faith wasn’t a demon. She was a human being, a scared little girl who committed the act of murder. Maybe they were wrong in how they went about dealing with her in Sunnydale, himself included. Among all of them, Angel should have known the best way to handle the situation. After all, hadn’t he been dealing with his own crimes and trying to atone for them for the last two hundred years? 

So, he had brought Faith back to the apartment. She told him of sleeping with Buffy’s knew boyfriend. _Buffy had someone new? She’d moved on?_ Angel growled in jealousy. But then, wasn’t that what he wanted for her? To be able to find someone human who could be with her in all the ways he couldn’t? 

Faith had apologized immediately after she thought about what she had just told him. She probably assumed that he knew about Buffy and her boyfriend. Angel had cut her off at that point. As much as he wanted to be happy for Buffy, he also didn’t want to hear anymore. Maybe it was a good thing that he had erased the day that never was from her mind. Though, he had gone back to Sunnydale and told Spike. He had felt guilty over cutting their new connection. 

Angel had his hands braced on the shower wall. He closed his eyes and let the water run over his muscled back. Squeezing them shut he willed himself to think about Spike. Now that Faith was sitting in his living room watching TV and relatively out of danger, he tried to think of more pleasant things. Like the connection between him and his boy that was growing stronger with each passing day. 

Angel’s cock hardened just remembering how he’d completed the claim on Spike. Someday, he’d have Spike with him and when that day came he’d never let him go. He may never be able to have Buffy if only in memory. But, Spike was _his_. He had claimed the boy a century ago, and reclaimed him a few months ago. He made Spike, shaped him. 

Angel came back to the present only to realize he had been strangling and stroking his cock to the images in his mind. The building orgasm felt so divine, he never wanted it to end. He stared sightless at the wall in front of him. He imagined Spike there with his back to him, buried inside the blonde as he worked them both over with deep, demanding thrusts. He imagined the way Spike voiced his pleasure as he spurred Angel on. He imagined reaching around and stroking his boy’s cock in time with his own thrusts as he whispered every deliciously dirty thing he could think of in Spike’s ear until the younger vampire shuddered and came hard against the shower wall. 

Angel rested his forehead against the wall as he regained his composure from the explosive orgasm. The last time he had felt like this was after the last erotic dream of Spike back in the day. That was a month ago. He sniffled as he held back the tears that threatened. He had never felt this . . . complete before. He was serious when he told Spike that he didn’t regret completing the claims. He still didn’t regret it; in fact, it was probably one of the best decisions he had made in a while. 

Before Angel could think anymore on the subject, he thought he heard a noise from the other room. He turned off the shower, grabbed a towel and walked out to his bedroom. 

“Is everything okay in there?” Angel called out. 

Faith continued to watch the television as she answered teasingly, “It was touch-and-go for the four minutes you left me alone, but somehow I got through it.” 

Angel returned to the bathroom to finish dressing while a shadowy object skittered along the ceiling above Faith. She changed the channel to a police report. 

“The LAPD in conjunction with Federal authorities are looking for this woman tonight,” the announcer said as a mug shot of Faith flashed on the screen. “A felony suspect from the California town of Sunnydale.” 

Faith reached for her drink with a shaky hand and knocked the glass over as the announcer was saying, “The young woman . . .” 

Angel had heard the glass fall as he was putting on a shirt. “Faith?” 

“ . . . Has fled to Los Angeles in recent days,” the announcer continued. 

When Angel didn’t receive an answer his brow furrowed in concern and he went into the living room to check on her. “Faith? What is it?” 

“Eyewitnesses identified her as being involved in several recent assaults. Police want your help in finding her. A press conference was held earlier . . .” the announcer went on. 

Angel glanced at the television and saw Faith’s picture flash on the screen again. He crouched down beside her chair. “Faith, it’s okay, all right? We knew about this. Nothing’s changed, all right. Nothing’s . . .” 

Angel stopped talking when he heard Kate’s voice from the TV. _Oh, great, just what I needed to deal with now._ He turned and watched as Kate made an official appearance. 

“Anyone with information concerning the whereabouts of this suspect should get in touch with law enforcement immediately. Do not approach her. She is considered to be violent and unpredictable. I’ll take a few questions,” Kate said just before Angel grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. 

“Listen to me Faith. You’re safe here. Do you hear me? You’re safe,” Angel said. 

He spoke too soon. The object that had been skittering around the apartment unnoticed chose that moment to drop down on top of them. It threw Angel off Faith, and then tossed Faith onto the sofa, causing it to overturn. 

Angel was about to charge it when Spike appeared out of nowhere and took a running leap at the misshapen demon only to be tossed into Faith who had just regained her feet. Angel was momentarily stunned to see his boy there in the flesh. He didn’t have time to process it though as the thing growled and went after him. 

“Spike, get Faith out of here!” Angel yelled. 

Spike herded Faith into the kitchen and out of the way of the banshee-type demon. He grabbed an overhead beam and swung both feet into the demon’s face knocking it toward Angel who punched it in the face sending it back toward Spike. 

The two vampires took turns switch-hitting the demon much to Spike’s delight of pummeling something after having to baby-sit humans for the last six months. This fighting thing made up for the internal suffering he had to go through by going against his nature to _not_ feed on the Slayer and her pals. It was driving him crazy not to be able to take a chunk out of the brats. 

In the kitchen, Faith grabbed the butcher knife she had earlier and hurried back into the fray. Just as she hit the doorway, Angel went sliding past her to the kitchen. Glancing around for Spike, she found him in a heap by the stairs. The demon charged at a slightly dazed Angel as Faith moved up behind it and repeatedly stabbed it with the butcher knife. A few blows later the demon lie dying on the floor. 

Spike had already picked himself up off the floor and was headed toward Faith as Angel was doing the same. Faith stared at the bloody knife in her hand. Memories of killing Finch last year were fresh in her mind. She shook her head to try and clear it. 

“Faith, luv?” Spike asked quietly. When he touched her arm she shrank away from him. He looked over at Angel to see if it was just him she was reacting to or she was as nutty as Drusilla right now. 

Angel shrugged and stepped forward. Faith saw him come up on her peripheral and shrank back even more. “No!” She dropped the knife and stared at the dark blood on her hands, and then she started to gasp for breath. This couldn’t be how her life turned out, could it? How had she gone from one of the Chosen Two to murderer? She was walking backwards away from the two vampires when she tripped over a floorboard. She would have fallen had Spike not been at her side in a second to catch her. 

As Spike held her against his chest to keep her from hurting herself should she have the inclination to, Angel stepped in front of her to try and calm her down. When he grabbed her wrists gently as a way to ground her senses, he felt her shaking. He had been waiting for this to happen: the moment when everything that she had done in the past year would catch up with her. 

“Hey. Hey. Hey. Come on, let’s sit down,” Angel took her from Spike and led her to the day bed he had set up for her earlier. 

Spike went into the kitchen to get a wet rag and a towel. Returning to the living room he handed them to Angel. He sat down in the recliner and watched his Sire. He tried to keep his mind blank, knowing Angel could pick up on any thoughts he had now that the connection was there. He couldn’t be having ideas of killing Faith either. Buffy was Angel’s great love and all that. That was the reason his Sire wouldn’t let him do her in. Well that and she’s the only Slayer residing on the Hellmouth. As for Faith, all Spike could come up with was that Angel was trying to help her, therefore she was off the dinner menu. 

How the hell did he get himself into this situation? Looking back on it, was the ring so bloody important that he had to not only come here to get it but also stay for a little chat with his dear ol’ Sire and end up with claims all over his body. Hell, Spike tried to go back to Sunnydale and have sex with Harmony. Boy was that embarrassing. He didn’t even know vampires could get erectile dysfunction. He always thought the energized libido was a demonic perk. 

Soddin' pouf was ruining his life is what it was. Angel laid his bloody claims and then left him to suffer knowing the claims would strengthen until Spike would crave his Sire again. The erotic dreams, the telepathic mumbo jumbo, the inner conversations were all designed to torture him. He was infatuated with his Sire again. He would lay awake in his crypt and fucking daydream about Angel. 

That’s the reason Spike was here, sort of. The pull to be near his Sire again was making him queasy. Well, that and he came to warn Angel that Buffy was on her way. He didn’t expect to come in on an ambush-by-demon. He refocused on the scene in front of him. Angel was sitting on the daybed hugging Faith as he tried to soothe her. She had her arms around his neck while still being careful not to touch him with her bloody hands. Spike would have offered to clean her hands, but the taste of demon’s blood outside of family was bland and did nothing for him. 

“Hey. It’s going to be okay. Okay? Shh,” Angel was saying. He glanced over at Spike sitting uncharacteristically quiet when he caught the sound of someone on the stairs. Both vampires turned in that direction and saw Buffy at the top of the second landing with a stunned look on her face. 

“Bullocks!” Spike swore. He was going to tell Angel she was coming, honestly he was. But, he got a little sidetracked with the fight and the thoughts afterward. 

Angel immediately let go of Faith as if she had singed his fingers. He got to his feet and started buttoning his shirt that was left open. Spike rose to his feet and carefully walked around the chair, out of the line of fire. 

“Buffy. I didn’t know you . . .” Angel started to say. He looked at Spike curiously. _Why didn’t you tell me she was coming? Did you come here together? What the hell is this Spike?_

Spike shook his head. _I came by myself ahead of her. That’s the reason I was here to begin with – well, one of the reasons anyway – to tell you that she was coming. She’s out for blood, mate. Right pissed at what Faith did to her I reckon._

Before Angel could question Spike further, Buffy broke the silence. “What . . .” 

Buffy looked from Angel to Faith sitting on the daybed staring at her bloody hands to Spike and back to Angel again. _Was this all one big giant conspiracy? Why was Spike here? And Faith! Angel was on the bed with Faith! Oh my God._

Buffy looked skeptical and angry as she tried to hold her emotions in. “How . . . What are you doing?” 

Spike inched closer to the blonde slayer. “Now, pet. There’s a perfectly good explanation for this. You see --” 

“She – we were attacked,” Angel broke in. 

Spike’s head dropped. _I was handling this, Angel._

_I know but I don’t need you to fight my battles with Buffy._

“We? You and . . .” Buffy was still stunned to find her ex-boyfriend in the same room with two of her enemies and they weren’t all killing each other. 

“Faith,” Angel supplied looking at Buffy to see if anything was registering. 

“You and . . . Faith . . . and Spike?” Buffy was confused. 

Spike held up his hands in surrender. “I came in on the tail end of the attack, pet.” Okay, so it was a lie, but it was a little one. Besides, it looked like Angel and Faith were too busy now to correct him. 

Angel looked at Spike and then down at his state of dress. Everything seemed normal. Then he remembered that Buffy had seen him hug Faith as he calmed her down. “Oh, it’s not what you think.” 

Buffy purposefully stomped down the remaining stairs to the ground floor. “You actually think that I can form a thought right now?” 

“Now, Slayer, he didn’t mean it that way,” Spike started to say. 

“Shut up, Spike!” Buffy threw out but didn’t look at him. “Giles heard that . . . that she tried to kill you.” 

“That’s true,” Angel confirmed. 

Spike’s nostrils flared in anger that the dark Slayer had tried to take a shot at his Sire and now his Sire was helping her. 

“So you decided to punish her with a severe cuddling,” Buffy sneered. 

“Oi! Slayer, it wasn’t like that. Faith had a breakdown of a reality check is all,” Spike walked over and stood next to his Sire, but in a manner that blocked Angel from an attack of a scorned blonde. 

“Stay out of this, Spike,” Buffy said through clenched teeth. 

“Hey now, I was pulled into this when I showed up here in time for a fight with a demon. No, it was before that when that bint decided to use your body to seduce me in the Bronze. So, no, I’m not staying out of this!” Spike was growling at Buffy now. 

Angel had put a hand on Spike’s shoulder when he tried to advance on Buffy during his side of the argument. It took him a moment to register what Spike had said. _Faith tried to seduce his boy with Buffy’s body? What?_

“I’m sure you didn’t even bother trying to stop her either. She was running around in my body, trying to seduce my enemy and fucking my boyfriend,” Buffy glared at Spike. 

“Buffy, Faith and I didn’t --” Angel started to correct her. 

“Not you. Riley,” Buffy cut in. 

Spike’s eyes became huge saucers when this new development happened. _Uh-oh. Angel didn’t know about the Slayer’s new boy toy yet. This should be interesting._ He turned to see his Sire’s reaction. Angel looked like he’d been punched in the gut. His face glimmered with a crestfallen expression before a hard edge set over his handsome features. 

“Well, were you fucking him on a regular basis?” Angel’s voice was dangerously calm. Spike thought he saw a bit of Angelus under the surface. 

“Is that any of your business? _You left me, Angel_. You told me to find someone to be with. Reluctantly, I did just that,” Buffy bit out. “This isn’t about Riley. This is about _that_ girl and how _she_ decided to play with _my_ life – _again_! I was worried about you!” 

Finally, Faith snapped out of her catatonic state. “Buffy. Oh, God.” 

Buffy whipped her head around to glare at the bane of her existence. She walked closer to Faith who cowered away from her. “You didn’t think I was going to find you, did you?” 

“Buffy, let’s talk about this,” Angel said by way of distraction. 

“Oh, I don’t think talk is in order right now,” Buffy gritted out. 

“She needs help,” Angel said. 

Buffy turned to face her former boyfriend again. “Help? Do you have any idea what she did to me?” 

Angel looked over Buffy’s head at Spike. The blonde vampire had told him what happened, although he had left out the part about Buffy having sex with another man. He had a mild thought of punishing Spike for withholding information. 

“Yes,” Angel said. 

“Do you care?” The question was more of an accusation. 

“She wants to change. She has a chance to --” Angel stared to say. 

“No. No chance. Jail,” Buffy said flatly. 

“You really think that’ll help?” Angel inquired. 

Spike went over to Faith to help her when he saw her try to stand up. She was still in a daze and a little shaky on her feet. She stared sightlessly at Buffy arguing with Angel. The blonde slayer was here to get her revenge and what right did Faith have to refuse her after what she did by taking Buffy’s life from her – even if it was only a week. “Buffy . . . I’m sor . . .” 

Buffy turned at the sound of her name, glared at Faith and threatened coldly, “Finish that apology and I will beat you to death.” 

Faith squared her shoulders, shrugging Spike’s hands off her. “Go ahead.” 

_Oh, no. This was not going to happen. There will be no Slayer-knockdown in my apartment._ Angel stepped in front of Faith blocking Buffy’s path and put a voice to his thought. “This is not going to happen.” 

Buffy looked at Angel with angry eyes. He was taking Faith’s side over hers. She didn’t know whether to cry or be insulted. “Are you going to stop me? Because you’re going to have to.” 

Faith shook her head at Angel. “Don’t – do this. Don’t get in the way. Don’t rescue me. I-I deserve this.” 

Angel stared at Buffy. “Faith, go upstairs . . . now.” 

“You think I’m going to let her out of my sight?” Buffy glared from Angel to Faith, daring the other girl to make a move. 

“Buffy, just back off. I’m handling her,” Angel tried to be calm, but this whole situation was wearing his patience thin. 

“There is _no way_ I’m letting her out of my sight,” Buffy yelled. 

“Faith, go! Spike, take her upstairs,” Angel said as he watched Buffy. He refused to take his eyes off her for a millisecond. She was dangerous when she was upset like this. 

Spike escorted Faith around the couple that seemed to be at a standoff in the middle of the room. God, he was hungry and the temptation of not one but two sources of Slayer’s blood in such a small space was causing the bloodlust to rise up. He didn’t know how Angel could ignore the pull to drink. He would just see Faith up the stairs and maybe nibble on her neck. He wondered if she’d be as agreeable as she was when she teased him in the Bronze. 

Just as that thought passed through his mind, he felt a mental yank on his proverbial leash that caused him to stumble back a few steps. _Bloody hell! Angel! I’m hungry damn it._

_Don’t you dare touch her blood, Spike. I know you’re hungry. I can feel it and once I’m through dealing with this, I’ll take care of it. Now get Faith upstairs._

Spike growled softly and led Faith up the stairs. Buffy rushed forward to stop them. “Spike! Get back here! Bring her back here! She’s not going anywhere . . . alive anyway.” 

When Buffy moved to follow them, Angel caught hold of her arm to stop her. She immediately turned and punched him in the face. She hauled back to hit him again, but Angel blocked her oncoming fist. He returned the punch, hitting her across the face. They both stared at each other in shock. Angel took a step back as Buffy raised a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe her Angel had hit her. He actually hit her, for Faith. 

“I’m sorry . . . I’m sorry,” he repeated softly. 

Spike opened the door to Angel’s office and led Faith inside. “Stay here pet. You should be fine. I’m going to go down and see what’s going on. As long as you’re in this building, you should be safe.” 

After a small nod from Faith, Spike turned around and went back downstairs. Just as Spike had left her alone, Wesley came in from the outer office. Faith was staring sightlessly at the staircase that Spike just descended. 

“Faith?” Wesley called to her. She turned to look at him. “Going somewhere?” 

Faith turned back towards the stairs and shook her head. “No. Just wanted to be alone.” 

Wesley stepped closer to her. He still didn’t trust her and rightfully so after what she did to him. But, there was a more important matter at hand. The Council had sent in a strike team to kill her. While he was on board that she needed help or needed to be put out of her misery. He didn’t agree with them killing Angel in the process. That’s what they planned to do: take out both the rogue slayer and the souled vampire. He’s done a lot of good since joining Angel on his mission of redemption. He didn’t want to see his boss unduly hurt. 

“Is Angel downstairs?” He asked. 

“Yeah,” Faith answered quietly. 

“Right.” Wesley grabbed her arm and trotted her back down the stairs. 

**************************

**_Wolfram & Hart_**

Lindsey had just gotten off the phone after receiving word that Plan B had failed. He was pacing the office with Lee sitting at the desk with his neck in a brace. The door opened and Lilah walked in. 

“Well?” Lee asked hopefully. 

“Strike two?” Lilah inquired looking at Lindsey. 

“This is getting to be ridiculous,” Lee said, disgusted. “The first assassin kills the second assassin, who was sent to kill the first assassin, who didn’t assassinate anyone until we hired the second assassin to assassinate the first assassin.” 

Lindsey smirked. He was impressed that Lee could get all that out without stumbling over his tongue. He sobered up and became serious. “All right. This obviously isn’t working.” 

Lilah raised a professionally plucked eyebrow. “You think?” 

“We’ve gone about this all wrong,” Lindsey continued. 

“Meaning?” Lee turned his whole body to face Lindsey. 

“We’re lawyers. It’s a mistake for us to try to work outside the law,” Lindsey said confidently. 

Lilah cocked her head at Lee. “He’s being ironic.” 

“Not at all,” Lindsey told her. “It’s time we moved the fight to our own turf. I know what to do. I’ll take care of it.” 

**************************

**_Angel’s Apartment_**

Angel and Buffy were still in a standoff. Well not so much as a standoff as Angel was standing there and Spike was holding Buffy against him with her hands crossed over her chest. She had tried to head-butt the blonde vampire in the nose, but Spike moved too quickly and she didn’t have the leverage she needed. 

When Spike had come back downstairs it was to a full out brawl between Angel and Buffy. He flew across the distance and pried a punching and kicking blonde slayer off his Sire; hence their current position. 

“Calm down, you bloody bint,” Spike said through clenched teeth. 

“Let me go, Spike! She’s going to run! Angel let her run! I swear to God I’ll stake you if you don’t let me go!” Buffy yelled. 

“Hey, now there’s an incentive to release you. So you can stake me. No, thanks honey,” Spike said as he held her struggling body tighter. 

“I swear when I get out of this,” Buffy was saying. 

“Buffy!” Angel said in a tone that was totally Spike’s Sire. “She’s not going to run.” 

“Yeah, well, why would she? When she has her brave knight to protect her? She got to you. Did she cry with pouty lips and heaving bosom?” She cringed. “I thought you needed help.” 

“You think I wanted this to happen?” Angel asked incredulously. 

“You hit me,” Buffy stated flatly. 

“Well, not to go all schoolyard on you, but you hit me first. In case you’ve forgotten, you’re a little bit stronger than I am,” Angel reminded her. 

“You did it for _her_ ,” Buffy was still struggling against Spike’s hold. Once she got any leverage, she swore the blonde vampire would be dust. 

“You were about three seconds from making her run, and you know that. She’s at a crucial stage,” Angel said. 

“Angel, I can’t hold her any more. If I do, I’ll take a chunk out of her,” Spike growled. 

“If Spike lets you go, you aren’t going to stake him. He was only doing this for me,” Angel warned her. 

Buffy stared angrily at her ex-boyfriend. Angel nodded and Spike released her, though he wasn’t quick enough to dodge the elbow to the nose. 

“Ow! Bloody hell woman!” Spike looked at Angel and then returned the blow with a punch to her face of his own. 

“Ow! Spike,” Buffy said nasally as she rubbed her nose. 

“You hit me first, Slayer, it seemed only fair,” Spike said. 

Angel rolled his eyes. They were like a couple of unruly kids. Buffy turned angry eyes on him again. “She’s playing you. She tried to kill you!” 

“That was just . . . that was just a cry for help,” Angel reasoned. 

“A cry for help is when you say ‘help’ in a loud voice,” she retorted. 

“Spike told me Faith did some bad things to you,” Angel said. _However, he neglected to mention the fact that not only had I stopped Spike from going after Faith when she teased him and left but that Faith had fucked a boyfriend I didn’t know Buffy had. When I told her to move on I didn’t think she would move this quick._ He gave her neck a cursory glance and saw the mark he left on her neck. His demon simmered under the surface wanting to sink his fangs in and obliterate any boy’s touch she had ever felt, but the soul held tight. 

“Well, he seemed to have left out a good portion of oh say, ninety percent of it,” Buffy said. She turned to Spike, “Just what did you tell him?” 

Spike opened his mouth to answer when Angel said, “You can’t possibly know what she’s going through.” 

“And of course you do?” Buffy furrowed her brows at she watched both vampires. “I’m sorry; I can’t be in your club. I never murdered anybody!” 

“We’re vampires Buffy. Faith’s just a confused --” Spike started to defend himself and Angel when he and his Sire both heard footsteps coming downstairs. 

“Faith, I told you --” Angel was cut off when he saw Wesley pushing Faith down the stairs in front of him. 

“Slight change in plan,” Wesley said by way of explanation and said to Faith, “Get your coat.” 

“What’s going on Wes?” Angel asked. 

“In about twenty minutes the Council’s goons are coming in here. They’ll expect to find you gone,” Wesley said as he held up a syringe, “and her drugged.” 

“How many?” Angel inquired. 

“Three.” Wesley finally registered Buffy’s and Spike’s presence there. “Hello, Buffy. I’m afraid you’ve come at a bad time.” 

“I’m feeling that,” Buffy said dryly. 

“Dear Lord, William the Bloody! What is he doing here? Two slayers and you here – Angel, why hasn’t he been staked? I thought surely after all the trouble he’s caused he’d be dust by now,” Wesley said. 

Angel had moved in between Spike and Wesley when the former Watcher had said something about staking him. He wouldn’t allow anyone to dust his boy if he could help it. Not after the connection had snapped into place. Spike was too much a part of him now to let that happen. 

“Spike has a way of getting himself in and out of trouble. He’s here because of me,” Angel explained. 

“I can take care of myself you know. I’ve made it to the ripe ol’ age of,” Spike counted his fingers and mentally counted his toes, “126 and it hasn’t been from pure luck. Had Drusilla to take care of too in that time and I managed to come through just fine.” 

Angel looked over his shoulder in time to see the petulant expression on Spike’s face. He turned toward Wesley. “Why’d you bring them here?” 

“I couldn’t shake them. I had to pretend I was helping them,” Wesley explained. 

“Why aren’t you?” Spike asked. 

“I know these guys. They’re killers,” Buffy broke in. 

“Well, they’ve surrounded the building,” Wesley said. 

“I’ll check the sewers, if they’re clear we all head out,” Angel said. “Faith?” 

“She must have slipped out,” Wesley said when she was nowhere to be seen. 

“She’d head for the roof,” Angel said. Buffy turned to go and Angel moved to go after her. “They may have it covered,” he warned. 

“We need a plan. Buffy can protect Faith,” Wesley said. 

Angel went to the opening of the sewer entrance. “I’m not sure that’s her agenda.” He looked up at Wesley and Spike. _Go up there. Do what you have to._

Spike nodded and disappeared up the stairs leading to the roof. Wesley followed Spike not sure what he intended. He was almost to the stairs when Angel called out to him. 

“Wesley, Spike’s fine. He’s only doing what I told him.” 

“How can you be so sure Angel? He’s a soulless demon. For all you know he could be going up there to kill both girls,” Wesley protested. 

“He won’t. We have a more pressing issue than Spike right now,” Angel said. 

Wesley retraced his steps back to Angel. “Angel, you can’t be serious in allowing him to roam free. He could kill anyone.” 

Angel stopped what he was doing and stood up. “Wes, didn’t Cordelia tell you?” 

“Tell me what?” Wesley looked confused. 

“In her words, ‘I’ve mind melded with a serial killer’,” Angel said. 

“I – I – you what? You can’t be serious? Why would you mate with him?” Wesley stumbled over his tongue trying to get the question out. He couldn’t believe he was hearing of this now. Cordelia should have said something. 

Angel frowned, which made his handsome brooding features even broodier. He went through this once with Cordelia he didn’t need a trip down memory lane with Wesley too. At least not at the moment when he had brought the Council’s strike team down on their heads. He bent down and opened the sewer door. 

“I didn’t mate with him in the physical sense. I put a Sire-Claim on him, the Mate-Claim was a residual effect,” Angel said defensively. He went back to opening the door to the tunnels. 

“Angel, it wasn’t for her,” Wesley changed subject back to Faith and their current situation. 

“I know,” Angel said before he dropped down into the sewers. 

“It’s because I trust you. Well, more than three gun-toting maniacs at any rate,” Wesley said as he looked down into the blackness of the sewers. 

**************************

**_The Roof of Angel’s Building_**

Buffy rushed out on the roof to see Faith standing a few feet away. The sounds of a helicopter flying near the building drowned out the sounds of the City below. 

“You’re not going to run, Faith,” Buffy said. 

“What do you want to do? You want to throw me off the roof . . . again?” Faith asked belligerently. 

Buffy stepped to closer to the other slayer. “Any reason why I shouldn’t?” 

Faith turned to look at Buffy with wild eyes. “There _is nothing_ I can do for you B. I can’t ever make it right.” 

“So you’re just going to take off again. Leave us to clean up yet another one of your messes,” Buffy asked accusingly. 

Spike opened the door and stepped out on the roof. He stopped short when he saw both girls facing each other, talking to each other, and weren’t killing each other. He leaned back against the wall next to the door and pulled out a cigarette. He’d just rest here, have a smoke and wait while they had their girly time. He was Spike, he’d take on one Slayer who went after his Sire, but he wasn’t fool enough to get between two slayers. 

“It would make things easier for you,” Faith was saying. 

“Yeah, ‘Til you got bored with the whole guilt thing and decided to come back to shake things up,” Buffy sneered. 

“That’s not going to happen,” Faith vowed. 

“You’re right. It’s not,” Buffy agreed. 

Faith took a step back. “Angel said there was no way you were going to give me a chance.” 

“I gave you every chance!” Buffy yelled angrily. “I tried so hard to help you, and you spat on me. My life was just something for you to play with. _Angel_ , _Riley_ , anything that you could take from me – you took. I’ve lost battles before. But, nobody else has _ever_ made me a victim.” Buffy was near tears at this point she was so frustrated with the girl in front of her. 

“And you can’t stand that. You’re all about control. You have no idea what it’s like on the other side! Where nothing’s in control, nothing makes sense! There is just pain and hate and nothing you do means anything. You can’t even--” 

“Shut up!” Buffy yelled. She couldn’t take anymore of Faith’s self-pitying. 

“Just tell me how to make it better,” Faith pleaded. 

The door beside Spike opened up, causing the blonde vampire to straighten his posture. When he saw a rugged man with a machine gun step out of the darkness he grabbed for the gun. 

“Slayer! Get to cover now!” Spike shouted in warning. He had a grip on the gun and punched the man but the guy’s trigger-finger pressed in and a hail of bullets sprayed over the roof. Buffy tackled Faith to the safety of a skylight base. 

**************************

In the apartment, Angel and Wesley were next to the sewer entrance, ready to jump down when they heard faint gunfire. 

“That’s coming from the roof,” Angel said. 

At that moment, Weatherby charged in shooting at them with a machine gun. Angel and Wesley dove for cover. Wesley glanced around the corner of the pillar he was hiding behind to see where the Councilman was standing. “I didn’t give you the signal,” he hissed. 

“Shut up,” Weatherby spat. He turned and smiled at Angel as he lifted a loaded crossbow. “Vampire.” 

Even as he stared at the man Angel thought of Spike. He hoped his boy was in a better situation than he was right now. He opened the link between them enough to tell what was going on. He could feel Spike fighting with someone. He shut the link down so Spike could concentrate on the task at hand. 

Remembering that he saw his mark on Buffy, Angel wondered if it had been so long that he couldn’t be able to feel her anymore. When he opened the link between them, he felt groggy as if he were seeing things in a thick fog. It had been a year since he marked her, but it was enough time with no renewal in between for the link to be all but completely severed. He could sense her blood rushing from adrenalin but other than that it was a hopeless venture. He shut the link down to concentrate on his own problem. 

**************************

Up on the roof Buffy and Faith were still undercover while Spike wrestled the gun away from him. He had felt Angel open the link to see how he was doing and then close off again. He silently thanked his Sire for the small grace; he didn’t need an inner discussion right now. 

“I think we can make it to the other building,” Buffy said. 

Faith nodded. “Go.” 

“Now,” Buffy said taking off at a dead run. 

Before the reach the edge of the building to jump off to the next, a black helicopter rose up over the side of the building to hover in front of them. Smith was in the open door with a machine gun in hand. 

Buffy and Faith ran to hide behind a skylight. Spike and Collins were fighting still when the helicopter showed up. The blonde vampire turned to see where Buffy and Faith were. He hit Collins with the gun knocking him off balance and took off after the girls. Collins worked to steady himself before he fell down the steps in the building. He shakily reloaded his weapon as Buffy and Faith ran for the cover of another skylight. 

“I have to take this guy out. The guy with the gun in the helicopter will go for me. You stay here,” Buffy said. She didn’t know why she was helping Faith. She wanted to mete out justice to the other slayer not really kill her. 

Faith nodded. Buffy lunged over the skylight and gained her feet in time to see Collins load the gun and take aim. Then a black blur was in her path as Spike grabbed her and turned his back to Collins’ gunfire. Several bullets went through his coat into his back. He grunted as he dragged Buffy back to the safety of a skylight. 

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” Spike yelled. 

“I was going to take him out until you got in the way!” Buffy yelled back. 

Spike pulled a 9 mm out of his jacket and cocked it. 

“Where did you get that?” Buffy asked her brows furrowed. 

“When I was trying to wrestle the machine gun away from him, I punched him in the gut. He had this stuffed in the front of his pants. So, I grabbed it,” Spike explained. “Now, get down!” 

Buffy ducked as Spike eased the weapon out past the safety of the skylight. He took aim and fired a series of shots until he heard Collins grunt. When Spike heard the clatter of the machine gun hitting the ground with the thud of the body, he fell back against the side of the skylight with a painful sigh. 

********************

Back in the apartment the fight had come to a conversation filled with accusation. Wesley and Angel were still behind pillars for cover. “Weatherby . . .” Wesley tried to reason with the other man. 

“Do the sacred oaths you swore as a Watcher mean nothing to you now?” Weatherby asked derisively. 

“As a matter of fact they do. I swore to protect the innocent,” Wesley said confidently. He called out to Angel, “Go to the roof. Help them.” 

“What?” Angel was surprised at what Wesley was insinuating, that he leave him to deal with this man alone. 

“Now!” Wesley demanded in a voice that brooked no argument. 

Angel ran for the stairs while Weatherby dropped the crossbow in favor of shooting at Wesley as he ran for the cover of another pillar. 

“Bastard!” Weatherby swore. 

Wesley removed the cap from the syringe and threw it like a dart, hitting Weatherby in the side of the neck. The hit stunned the other man into dropping his weapon. 

“One-eighty,” Wesley smiled. 

Weatherby pulled the needle out of his neck. He stood there stunned and swayed as the drugs took effect. Wesley walked up to him and hit him with a good right cross that knocked him down. “That’s for calling me a ponce.” 

**************************

Angel ran up the stairs to the roof. He saw the helicopter’s spotlight through the milky film in the skylight above the landing at the top of the stairs. Buffy was feeling around for Spike’s wounds and looked over at the sound of broken glass in time to see Angel shoot through the skylight and catching the left rung of the helicopter with his arms. He grabbed tight to the tread. He reached up and pulled Smith out of the door. Smith fell and landed on the roof. 

Angel climbed up to stand on the rung and shifted into his demon. He tapped on the glass startling the pilot and yelled, “Down! Take it down.” 

Buffy and Spike watched as the helicopter left and then she looked around. “Faith!” 

But, the other Slayer had disappeared. 

**************************

After the helicopter had landed and was met by LAPD, Angel had been taken into custody for not giving up the whereabouts of Faith to Kate Lockley. When he was brought into the station, he didn’t care what happened to him as long as Faith was safe. Buffy and Wesley had shown up just as he was about to be booked when Faith had stood up a few feet away and turned herself in. 

Things didn’t go any better with Buffy before she left either. The whole night went from bad to worse with her. He may have said some things he regretted. After watching her leave him again, he looked over to see Spike’s vivid blue eyes watching his every move. 

_Oh, God. My boy is still here. He stayed._ Angel thought Spike would have left with Buffy. But, he was here, waiting for him. He went over and sat beside the blonde vampire. They didn’t speak for the longest time, although Angel rested his hand on Spike’s thigh. 

“Do you want to go after her?” Spike asked. “She is the love of your life and all.” 

Angel ignored the question. “She’s not the only love of my life.” 

“Well, do you want me to go after her then?” Spike repeated the question. 

“No. Buffy can handle herself alone for a few days,” Angel said. He had smelled his childe’s wounds, even felt the pain of being shot earlier and Spike wasn’t going anywhere for a few days, not if Angel had anything to say about it. 

“Yeah, but --” Spike started to say. 

“Stay. Please,” Angel said quietly. 

“What am I a bloody dog?” Spike sounded incredulous. 

“No, but with those wounds in your back, you’re not going anywhere but the apartment until I can get those bullets out,” Angel stated. 

**************************

**_Angel’s Apartment_**

Spike was lying with his head at the end of the bed. His arm was draped over the side holding a bottle of Angel’s good Irish whiskey. It made him chuckle mildly at the knowledge that it took multiple gunshot wounds and a lot of curses in five languages to get Angel to break out his good whiskey. 

Spike could still feel the pressure on his back as Angel worked the last of the ten bullets that riddled his back with holes. But, it was dull enough to where he could withstand the twinge. Being a vampire, he had a high tolerance for pain. But, bloody hell did it hurt when Angel started digging for and pulling the bullets out. 

“Ah! Got it! This is the last of them, Spike,” Angel told the now-sluggish vampire underneath him. He reached over and dropped the slug with the others in the trash. 

“Thank you,” Spike whispered to himself. 

Angel patched the last wound and moved off Spike to sit on the bed beside him. He watched as Spike sat up painfully to lie beside him on his stomach. Tonight, his childe had gone beyond what Angel thought he ever would to help someone other than himself. That surprised and pleased him. Spike, the Slayer of Slayers, had taken nearly a dozen bullets in the back to protect two of his enemies. Angel didn’t think there were enough words to express his feelings over that. 

“What are you brooding about now, Sire?” Spike asked. 

“I’m not brooding. Just thinking of what you did tonight,” Angel told him. 

“Didn’t do anything but follow your orders so you wouldn’t stake me,” Spike said. 

“It was more than that Spike. I told you to watch after Buffy and you not only did that but protected Faith too. I didn’t expect that of you. You were so gentle with a girl you didn’t even know because you knew I was trying to help her. You’re an anomaly, Spike.” 

“Must be the dreaded humanity in me then: William coming out a bit too much, yeah?” Spike said. 

“Why’d you come here tonight, Spike?” Angel asked curiously. 

“A couple of reasons I suppose,” Spike said offhandedly. “To warn you that Buffy was on her way, but with the demon fighting and all I forgot about it.” 

Angel nodded. “What’s the other reason?” 

Angel knew the reason. Spike couldn’t resist the pull of the connection between them any longer. He had to come here. His mate was here. But, hearing it from Spike’s lips would be nice, and watching the blonde squirm was a bonus. 

“The claims pulled me here. I tried to ignore them, but I could only do that for so long.” Spike needed to be near Angel, but he would bite off his own tongue before he ever voiced that to his Sire. 

It seemed he didn’t have to. Angel slid down to lay on the pillow next to Spike. He leaned over and softly kissed his boy’s full lips. The blonde startled and pulled back. He stared at the dark vampire with wide blue eyes. 

Then, both vampires reached for each other, pulling the other closer by the back of the neck. They kissed each other as if they were starving after a prolonged fast. Tongues licked lips before delving into mouths, blunt teeth nibbled on lips. 

Angel grabbed Spike around the waist and smoothly hauled him over to straddle his body. He reached between them to unbutton and pull the zipper down on Spike’s black jeans, before tugging them down over his boy’s lean hips. 

Spike was already starting to rock his hips, rubbing his shaft against Angel’s crotch. The hand on Angel’s neck had moved up to lace fingers through thick dark hair. It had been so long since he had felt like this. The way he felt during the completion of the claims was nothing like this. This feeling, he hadn’t felt this way in a century. It was a starving need for his Sire. He wanted to melt into the big body of his master. Of course, he would never call Angel ‘master’. He never did before and wouldn’t call him that now. But, that’s how he felt. 

Angel knew this was wrong. He had just finished taking bullets out of Spike’s back; he had no business initiating this. He wasn’t Angelus. He wouldn’t cause the other vampire pain while he drowned in the pleasure he knew his childe’s body offered. 

When that thought passed through Angel’s mind, Angelus happily sent him images of how his body had hardened at the sound of Spike’s skin splitting under a whip. The feeling that he needed to bury himself in the boy at the grunts that emanated from the blonde when he had refused to give Angelus the satisfaction of hearing him scream in agony. 

_No!_ Angel yelled at his demon. _I won’t hurt him just so you can get off. It’s different between us now._

Angelus smirked. _It’s not different. He’s mine again. You made sure of that when you completed the claim. The only difference is that it’s you on the outside, but you still took him using me. It was my passion that was the catalyst that brought on the mating claim._

_That’s funny coming from the demon that could barely stand him in Sunnydale,_ Angel scoffed. 

_Sunnydale was like a freak storm: it shows up out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly,_ Angelus explained. 

_You **tried** to suck the world into hell! That wasn’t a freak storm, that was a slow moving hurricane,_ Angel growled. 

_Oh, like you never made a miscalculation since you’ve been on the outside, bloody ponce,_ Angelus threw back. 

_Using Spike’s insults now?_ Angel asked. 

_Hey guys, will you quit arguing I’m trying to snog here,_ Spike’s inner voice appeared suddenly. 

There was silence from both Angel and Angelus. Angel opened his eyes and pulled back with a shocked expression. He thought his telepathic abilities with Spike and his inner turmoil with Angelus were in two separate compartments. 

“You can hear Him when you slip into my mind?” Angel asked. 

“Well, yeah. Here I was thought you were lost in the moment and all. So, I slipped in a bit and what do I find but you arguing with your demon. You should know it’s not flattering for a bloke,” Spike said. 

“If it’s any consolation, we were arguing about you. It started out that way anyhow,” Angel assured him. 

“Arguing over the best way to shag me, I suppose?” Spike asked as he gingerly moved away to lie beside Angel. 

_Now see what you did?_ Angel growled at Angelus. 

“Spike, what are you doing?” 

“Giving you room to finish the argument. When you’re through I’ll just be over here, hard as a rock with my pants around my legs. Didn’t know any better someone would think I was being treated like a cheap whore,” Spike grumbled. 

Angelus broke into a fit of laughter at that. _Ha! Ha! Ha! You really did it this time. Treated him no better than Darla! Now that’s funny!_

_Oh, shut up!_ Angel growled. 

“Did you just growl at me?” Spike turned his head and quirked an eyebrow at Angel. 

“No.” Angel closed his eyes. This night was starting out to end better than he hoped and now it was getting worse because Angelus couldn’t keep his mouth shut and his memories to himself. 

“You know, just because my back is sore doesn’t mean we can’t get each other off,” Spike suggested. 

Well, it was the pouf’s fault. He started with the groping and the kissing and the undressing and now Spike was hard and it didn’t seem like it would be going down any time soon. Right now, that was more important than his healing wounds. 

Angel turned on his side to face Spike. He reached down and wrapped his thick fingers around Spike’s hardened shaft. Watching his childe’s reactions, he started stroking the length. 

Spike moaned when he felt Angel’s big hand wrap around him. He laced his fingers in his Sire’s thick hair and pulled him closer. He reached down and unbuttoned the other vampire’s pants. Reaching inside, he received a surprised gasp when he circled his fingers around the huge cock. Taking advantage of Angel’s surprise, he slipped his tongue inside the cool mouth. 

Passion ignited between them once again, starting a slow burn through their bodies as they both rocked their hips, and hardened shafts were thrusting into clenched fists. Both vampires were swept up in a memory of a night like this one when it was just the two of them and they used each other to obtain orgasmic bliss. 

Angel kissed along Spike’s sharp cheekbone and then down to nibble on an ear before burying his face against his childe’s neck. He bucked his hips, thrusting his cock faster into Spike’s fist. He felt the burn in the pit of his stomach start to spread to his balls. He wanted to bury himself in Spike’s body so badly, but he didn’t dare with the injuries still healing. Maybe in a couple of days, but right now, he pacified himself with the feel of Spike’s hand squeezing and jerking his cock. He tightened his own hold on the blonde’s shaft and matched his strokes to Spike’s. Angel’s mouth watered at the thought of what Spike might taste like. To keep from ending this blissfully torment to find out, he sank his fangs into his boy’s neck. Not to drink, just to penetrate. 

Spike cried out when Angel bit his neck. His body arched up painfully – due to the healing wounds – but that didn’t deter the oncoming orgasm. He tightened his grip in Angel’s hair, holding his Sire closer, then sank his fangs into his Sire’s neck as he surged up one last time before his come shot over both their stomachs. 

Angel felt Spike’s fangs and the resulting orgasm residue on his skin. The image of it in his mind was so hot it triggered his own release. When it was over, he lay there half on top of his childe. He licked the mark closed and then lazily trailed his tongue along Spike’s collarbone. He hadn’t felt this good in years. It wasn’t perfect happiness, but it was damn close and he could accept that. 

Spike grunted when Angel’s weight became a burden to his tender back. He shoved at Angel a bit until the big body moved to the side. When Angel lay on his back, he moved closer instinctively. It wasn’t something Spike consciously did, but being around his Sire had him reverting back to old patterns. He was more relaxed than he had been in years and for now that was enough. 

Angel lazily caressed his fingers over Spike’s spine. After he moved away, the blonde turned on his side and curled up against him. Angel smiled at the gesture. It was something William used to do, but Spike was too butch for such intimacy. Things were starting to look up for him now that his boy was here. But, Buffy still plagued him. 

Angel knew he had said things to her that he really didn’t mean. He shouldn’t have talked to her that way. He had wanted to go after her earlier to apologize, but Spike needed him more. Now that Buffy had this Riley guy as a new boyfriend, Spike had become his priority. But still, the conversation he had with Buffy in the police station troubled him. 

“What are you brooding over now, Angel?” Spike’s voice was gruff with sleep. 

“Buffy. I shouldn’t have talked to her that way. Everything I said was true, but still . . .” Angel trailed off. 

“Do you want to go after her?” Spike repeated his earlier question. 

“When you’re healed, I’d like to go back and maybe try to fix it. She’ll simmer down by then, be more forgiving,” Angel said more to himself that Spike. 

The blonde rolled his eyes at how poncy his Sire was. A yawn escaped him as the events of the previous night and a great orgasm caught up with him. “Sure, Angel. Whatever you want,” he said tiredly. 

Angel smiled and pulled Spike closer. He basked in his childe’s agreeable mood for a few minutes before succumbing to sleep.


	17. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 13: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 13)_

The week passed by slowly. As Spike’s back healed, the intimacy between him and Angel became more intense. What had started that first night as a mutual need and light passionate kisses had escalated into a near-drugged ecstasy. It felt as if they were making up for the lost time that they were apart. 

After the mutual masturbation that first night, Angel tried to help Spike wash in the shower. _Tried_ being the operative word because once his big hands touched his boy’s back and shoulders carefully as not to aggravate the healing skin, his dark eyes smoldered and his touch became a slow, seductive caress over the shoulders and back. As Angel took his time to relearn the planes of Spike’s torso, he softly kissed and licked the side of the blonde vampire’s neck until he sagged back against his chest. 

Angel spent the rest of the time in the shower reacquainting his mouth and hands with Spike’s body. He hadn’t been this intimate with another person in a century. Ironically, the last person he touched like this was Spike. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders while he was around his childe. It wasn’t perfect happiness, but more of a mellow sensation. He doubted he’d ever achieve ‘perfect happiness’ again, let alone with Spike. It wasn’t that Spike didn’t make him feel that; there was too much history and bad blood and his boy always kept his feet on the ground so he never lost sight of whom and what he was. 

After the intimate perusal in the shower that only whetted their appetites for each other, Angel had backed off for both their sakes. If he didn’t he would have jumped Spike then and there, healing wounds or not. He knew Angelus didn’t care about any pain his boy would be in, but Angel refused to give in. No matter how much his demon taunted him. 

Day three had them fumbling into each other in the kitchen as they heated up blood. Angel had apparently grown two left feet, bumped into Spike knocking him into the fridge, and caused him to nearly topple over. Angel’s hand shot out to grab him and hold him steady. The move made their faces and their lips mere millimeters apart. The contact of hand on skin sent a sizzling surge through Angel and by the heated look that flared in Spike’s eyes; he knew his boy felt it too. 

Day four had Spike ready to pull out his hair he was so frustrated. _Four bloody days and still nothing. I’m slowly going insane. What the hell is he waiting for? I could understand the second day, but this is bloody ridiculous._ He had vampiric healing and they were only superficial gunshot wounds. Why did Angel insist on having them circle each other? Spike swore silently that if Angel didn’t make a move soon, he would knock the big lug out, tie him up, wait for him to come around and then fuck him senseless again. 

It made Spike even more jumpy when he would sit on Angel’s long, soft leather sofa with the dark vampire two cushions away. He could feel his Sire’s eyes on him periodically. It was unnerving. Another night of this and he was going to be as insane as Drusilla. Finally, after two hours of trying to watch the telly and feeling the incessant staring from the other side of the couch, Spike growled and jumped to his feet. 

He whirled on Angel in frustrated anger. “Either bloody well fuck me and get it over with or stop staring at me like I’m premium blood, Angelus!” 

_Angelus? It had been a while since Spike used his full name. Why was he upset though?_ Angel didn’t even realize he had been watching Spike with predatory eyes. Lately, his childe seemed restless and fidgety, and he didn’t notice that _he_ was the cause for it. 

“What are you talking about?” Angel was genuinely confused. 

“Three days! Three bloody fucking days and nothing! I was shot with bullets not poison. I can still function you brainless ape! I came here to _be with you_ because the mate-claim brought me here. I got shot in the back protecting two of my enemies including your girl. ’M a vampire, mate; I have a fast healing rate. I’m not human so it’s not like I’m goin' break under the force of sex. _And_ , what have you done but hold off and stare at me. We’ve been circling each other for THREE DAYS. So, either strike now or I might as well go back to Sunnyhell and continue with my bloody assignment,” Spike ranted. 

_Had it been that long?_ Angel knew Spike’s sex drive was high, but he was only trying to give his childe time to heal. Now, it seemed as if the other vampire was feeling neglected or ignored. Angel stood up in front of the blonde. 

“You don’t have to leave, Spike. You don’t know how much I’ve wanted you, and no, I don’t just mean over these last few days. I was letting you heal and becoming used to another person being here. I, I like it . . . having someone else around that understands and I can be myself,” Angel said. “Yeah? Me too! But, while you’re reveling in having me around, we’ve been languishing. If you only brought me here as a courtesy to heal me, then let me say ’preciate the hospitality, peaches. I’ll be on my way,” Spike gave a small nod and turned to leave. 

Angel stood there stunned. _He thought the only reason I wanted him here was to heal him. Did the mate-claim mean nothing? He had to come here and what have I done but ignore him outside of necessity?_ When he looked up to say something, he found empty space. Looking around frantically, he saw Spike heading to the bedroom. He went after him. 

Spike walked to the bedroom to collect his duster. He’d be out of Angel’s hair in a matter of minutes. The mate-claim be damned. If his Sire wanted him here out of an obligation then that was the pouf’s problem. He was going back to Sunnydale. He didn’t need nor want charity. He’d been fine on his own for a century and took care of Drusilla on top of it. 

Spike stopped short when Angel’s hand wrapped around his bicep and turned him around. Vampires by definition were cool to the touch. But, Angel’s fingers on his inner arm sent a frisson of heat through his body. He looked down at the long fingers wrapped around his arm and followed the limb up to his Sire’s handsome face. His lips parted when he saw an answering desire in the dark vampire’s eyes. 

Angel stared at the parted lips and groaned when he saw the pink tongue slip out to wet them. He leaned closer wanting to follow that tongue back inside. One second he was watching Spike’s tongue, imagining the possibilities of what it could do and the next he was kissing the blonde vampire, licking those same lips before sliding his tongue inside. 

Spike moaned softly. He couldn’t control it, not when he was mated to this thing who was a very talented kisser. Letting his tongue slide along Angel’s, tempting the other vampire to explore further, he vaguely noticed that his Sire held his hips as he walked him backward toward the bedroom. 

Once they hit the doorway, Angel gripped Spike's shirt, tugged it out of the waistband of his jeans and whipped over the blonde head. His hands settled on his boy’s neck, caressing his fingertips on the sensitive spot behind the ear and his thumb along the jaw line and resumed the kiss. 

As he deepened it, Spike unbuttoned Angel’s shirt and pushed it over his shoulders. He shrugged out of the shirt and started progressing closer to the bed. They kicked off their shoes and began working on each other’s pants. The dark vampire had just tugged the blonde’s pants down over his hips when Spike’s knees hit the side of the bed and he fell back on it. His hands were in Angel’s waistband with the pants open when he pulled the larger vampire down with him. 

Angel’s body pressed his into the mattress as he maneuvered his jeans off. When they were low enough, Spike kicked them off and drew his knees up so that the other vampire’s hips were cradled between his thighs. The bigger body was grinding against him as he tried to pull the zipper down on Angel’s pants. His Sire was kissing and licking his neck before taking tiny nips at the sensitive flesh. _Bloody hell this was too much!_

“Angel!” Spike groaned even as he turned his head to give Angel better access. “I can’t get your pants off like this, mate.” 

Angel mumbled something incoherent against his neck, even with enhanced hearing Spike couldn’t make it out. Then, he pulled back and growled softly against the blonde’s ear, “Fuck, Spike, it’s been too long. All these years, those dreams I’ve been having about us. The way it used to be and now you’re here.” 

“Yeah, I’m here. Now, about these pants of yours; if we’re going to do this it would be better if they were off.” Spike tugged at the pants in question for emphasis. 

Angel climbed off of Spike and stood up. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his pants and wiggled out of them. While he took his clothes off, he watched Spike with a predatory gaze as the blonde moved up on the bed to lie against the pillows and stare back at him. 

Kicking the pants out of the way, Angel climbed onto the bed and slowly crawled up Spike’s body until they were nose to nose with each other. He still couldn’t believe his boy was here. It had only been a week, but the newness hadn’t worn off yet. He had dreamt about Spike – or William – for months now and a majority of those dreams were shared due to the claim. But, finally he had Spike here, in his bed, naked and ready and able and . . . _oh, God, what if he **did** lose his soul? What if what he told Giles had been a lie and the past didn’t matter? What if the claims had somehow righted everything and he made love with Spike now and unleashed Angelus? What if . . .?_

“Angel? I can’t believe you are brooding now of all times,” Spike said in exasperation. He had _felt_ it the moment Angel started thinking way too much. Here he was in Angel’s bed with a very naked Angel against his very naked body and the ponce was brooding. What was there to worry about at a time like this? 

“I’m sorry, Spike. It’s just that some things kind of hit me at the moment. Do you think this the right thing to do? What I mean to say is --” Angel stammered. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Angel, you can’t be serious. You have a very hot, delectable _me_ in your bed and you have an attack of sainthood now? I can’t believe this!” Spike’s head fell back against the pillows. 

Angel frowned as he watched Spike throw himself back on the bed. Was he hurting Spike with the claims? He knew what he thought and what he told Giles about not turning evil with Spike because the circumstances between them were different. But, what happens if he’s wrong? 

_Would you stop brooding already and fuck him?_ Angelus growled inside him. 

_Right . . . I **make love** with Spike and then you come out to play. How is that any good?_ Angel asked. 

_I promise. I won’t come out. I don’t see how since you’ve upset Spike and pissed me off. Listen boyo, we haven’t been laid in years. Not since that little blonde Slayer you have a hard on so much for. Now that my boy’s here, you’re wasting time brooding over nothing. Let’s get to the hot piece of ass waiting for us shall we?_

_You’re the crudest demon I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting, you know that? And that’s saying something because Spike’s right up there on the list in the crude department._

_I’m Angelus. What’s the excuse you give for your dark thoughts, hmm?_ Angelus smirked. 

_When you two are done discussing the implications of fucking me, let me know. ’Cause I have a major hard on ready and waiting for whoever wins_ , Spike’s inner voice broke in. 

_See? You’re going to pass that up? I swear I won’t show my ugly side. You can trust me_ , Angelus said sincerely. 

_. . . Said the Big Bad Wolf to the gentler twin. Why should I believe the word of a soulless demon?_ Angel asked. 

_Hey! I’m a soulless demon and you listen to me, except when you don’t, like now_ , Spike’s inner voice popped in. 

Angelus gave an exasperated sigh and growled, _Fine! If you don’t fuck him now then I will come out and wreck whatever life you have built for yourself. Now take him!_

_Okay, that’s it! I’m feeling peer pressured into this by you and Spike’s inner voice. If I develop performance anxiety I know who to blame._ Angel said. 

_Oh for the love of –_ Spike and Angelus growled in unison. 

“Angel, would you stop brooding for one minute and think about this? I’m not some sixteen-year-old schoolgirl who can make you forget who you are. We’re demons. I can’t change the past or make it go away. If you want me to, I’ll whisper all the nasty things you ever did as Angelus while we fuck, if it’ll get you inside me any faster,” Spike promised. 

_Are we back in the game yet?_ Angelus asked tiredly. 

Angel gave Spike a heated look in which he tried to convey his feelings toward the blonde’s sentiment. That his boy would go to such lengths to please him. Okay, so it was also so Spike could get laid. But, he was willing to ease his worries over the whole thing. That was good right? 

_Well?_ Angelus sounded annoyed. 

“Well? Hot little bod here just waiting for the attention that’ll be coming my way any moment now,” Spike sounded annoyed. 

Angel stayed silent, but not still. He watched Spike through smoldering eyes as he moved down between his legs. Wrapping his big hand around Spike’s shaft, Angel ran his tongue along the underside from the sac to the tip and back. 

Fuck! Angel had never done that before. Not as Angelus anyway. It had always been about his pleasure not Spike’s. This was so bloody hot, watching his Sire slowly licking his cock. He never thought he’d see Angel like this. They’ve always had very definite roles of Sire/Childe. You didn’t mess with those roles. _Jesus! What’s he doing now?_ Spike blinked to try and refocus his crossed eyes to watch Angel. 

Angel had opened his lips around the head of Spike’s cock and was licking the underside of the rim. He had to hold his boy down when his hips bucked up. After he teased the head for a few moment, he sucked a little more of the shaft inside and laved at the skin, tasting the skin, relishing the flavor that was Spike. 

Spike was trying hard to watch. It was an awesome sight: his Sire servicing his needs for once. This was unbelievable. Angelus must be choking and gagging at the way Angel was going about this. He squeezed his eyes shut against the sensation of the other vampire sucking more of the length into his mouth. When he finally hit the back of his Sire’s throat, his eyes went wide. 

“Fuck! Angel!” Spike’s body tightened when Angel started rubbing his tongue against his dick and sucking it, making it feel like a massage. _Definitely_ never did that before. 

Spike was still staring in awe at the sight when he felt Angel’s big fingers brush against his anal opening. The slight touch made him jerk up and bury his cock down the older vampire’s throat. 

“Angel!” Spike growled. 

Angel heard him; he was just busy with other things at the moment. He felt Spike’s body shaking in small tremors under him. He would have smirked at the idea of unhinging his boy, but his mouth was full. Instead, he set about teasing the blonde in other ways. His fingers brushed against Spike’s entrance and wiggled just inside the tight ring. 

Spike couldn’t remember what he said that brought this passion on, but he couldn’t say that he was disappointed. _Was that . . . ? Oh, God!_ Spike shuddered when he felt Angel’s fingers enter his body. Angelus had to be driving behind Angel’s wheel. It was kind of strange. Angel was still souled and he was the one doing the action, but Angelus was inside him. Spike could talk to him when he slipped inside his Sire’s mind. 

Angel worked his fingers inside Spike’s tightly puckered ring as he continued to taste and tease his childe. After a few moments, he worked in a second finger and scissored them gently in an attempt to stretch the opening, preparing his boy. He sucked up off the shaft, stroked the length and continued to watch Spike as he wiggled a third finger inside, searching for his boy’s pleasure point. 

“ANGEL!” Spike screamed, signifying that he must have found it. 

Angel gave him a patented Angelus smirk and continued to tease the nub with his fingertips as he slowly, deliberately stroked Spike’s cock. He watched as the other vampire’s body rocked with him in the ebb and flow motion of gently breaking waves. Spike’s eyes were squeezed shut, his head thrown back against the pillows, his back arched and his hips rocking between Angel’s fingers and fisted hand. 

“Annnngggeeelll… oh yeah….” Spike groaned, fisting the sheets, lost in the throes. 

“Like this, Spike?” Angel asked as he kept the blonde on edge. 

“Fuck, Angel… what are you doing? I was just thinking of a quick fuck to take the edge off,” Spike groaned as he rolled his hips in an attempt to get better friction. 

“This is _me_ , Spike, _Angel_ , not Angelus. I will never fuck you and it will never be quick. I can guarantee that,” Angel said solemnly. 

Angel’s words went straight to Spike’s dick and he shuddered even harder. “Angel, please.” 

Angel sat up and watched Spike in his euphoria. His boy was beautiful to behold, but then he always was. Sitting back on his heels, he pulled his fingers from Spike and used them to position the head of his cock against the entrance. He leaned over his childe’s body, and released the hold on the blonde’s shaft. Raising his hands to Spike’s face, he directed his head to look him in the eyes. 

“Spike, this is really going to happen. I just pray that Angelus keeps his word, but should I lose my soul after this, you have to promise me, you’ll do whatever you have to, make sure I don’t hurt anyone,” Angel said seriously. 

“Peaches, one: you won’t lose your soul; two, you do realize you said _I_ , not _he_ or _him_? But, I promise, I’ll chain you up until we can get Red to do the spell again. But, nothing’s going to happen and nothing will at this rate. I want you inside me . . . _now_ ,” Spike grated the last words out in a fit of sexual frustration. 

“You always were a demanding little fuck, I often wondered why I kept you around for so long,” Angel teased. 

“Because I’m bloody gorgeous and charming, you couldn’t resist me,” Spike smirked. 

“Oh, yeah . . . now I remember.” 

Angel reached down and guided his cock into Spike’s body with such ease it was like they hadn’t been apart for the last century. It was familiar, home. The feeling only lent more fuel to the need to stake his claim all over again. With that thought, he gripped Spike’s hip tighter and thrust his cock in hard and fast, causing the other vampire’s body to jerk up and bow under him. 

“Oh … Fuck yeah!” Spike groaned at the show of dominance in the thrust. Now if he could just bring more of that out in Angel, this would be perfect. 

Spike pulled his legs down and flipped them over so that he was straddling Angel’s hips. From there, he laid his hands on the muscled chest under him and, using the leverage, started bouncing on Angel’s shaft. Once he found a comfortable rhythm, he sped up his movements and thrust down hard, taking his Sire completely inside his body. 

Angel stared up at Spike as he helped to guide his hips. Angelus was growling inside him because he had allowed Spike to push him over and be on top. Angelus hated it, he wanted to force Spike to his hands and knees and slam his boy into orgasm with forceful thrusts. _Yep, no true happiness here_. 

Spike was lost in his own passion, bouncing on Angel. The shaft sliding in and out and bumping the nub inside, teasing him was the greatest thing in the world right now. He wasn’t even paying attention to Angel. So, it came as a surprised when he found himself pushed off his Sire and flipped onto his hands and knees with Angel driving deep inside his body. 

“God, Angel! Give a bloke some warning first,” Spike said as he felt Angel pump his hips against him. 

“Oh, come on, Spikey, what would be the fun in that? Especially, when I can bend you over and fuck you like this?” Angel teased. 

A bit of niggling suspicion that Angelus had come out to play teased Spike’s mind, but it was forgotten when Angel picked up a rhythm in his steady thrusts, pounding hard and fast into him. He wasn’t about to say anything against it, being that it seemed to take forever to get his Sire to this point. 

“A little to the left,” Spike directed. When Angel shifted position and the battering strokes hit his prostate every time, Spike closed his eyes to ride out the incredible feeling. 

“This is better than I remember,” Angel whispered in Spike’s ear, his voice husky from arousal. 

“Don’t go getting happiness ideas about it, I’d hate to have to stake the one marvelous fuck I’ve had in ages,” Spike snickered. 

“No of course not . . . oh God, Spike! Gonna come soon!” Angel growled as his hips slapped against Spike’s ass faster and their sacs were bouncing against each other on alternating thrusts. 

“Yeah, Angel, do it,” Spike encouraged. He stiffened his body for Angel’s thrusts that repeated bumped against his pleasure point. 

Angel ground his hips to get his cock deeper inside Spike and then leaned over his back and bit into his previous mark on his childe’s neck, reopening the wound and the claims again. Spike arched against him when he felt his Sire’s fangs penetrate his jugular and growled as he came from the bite and the cock still pumping inside him. 

Angel retracted his fangs and licked the wound closed. He pulled out of Spike and lay beside him before pulling the blonde over his chest. He tilted his head to the side baring Spike’s mark to him and silently encouraged him to finish the claim. 

Without hesitation, the blonde shifted into his demon and struck. His fangs slid into his Sire’s flesh so easily and then he was drinking the familiar blood in big gulps. It was almost as good as the orgasm he had just had. After a few large swallows, he took the potent blood in sips until Angel tugged on his hair and growled at him to stop. He released his Sire’s neck and closed the wound. 

“That was brilliant, pet,” Spike said languidly, still high from the Sire’s blood. 

“Yeah, it was,” Angel agreed. 

“Could do it again, only next time without so much of the brooding,” Spike said the corners of his mouth quirked up in a grin. 

“Spike?” Angel said hesitantly. 

“Yeah?” Spike looked over at him. 

“When you go back to Sunnydale I want you to do something for me,” Angel hedged. 

“Already baby sitting your girl. What more do you want?” Spike inquired. 

“Get out of the cemetery. Move to the apartment.” 

“No.” 

“Why not? It’s dark, dank, very little sunlight, just like your crypt only cleaner,” Angel explained. 

“Because it’s where you took the Slayer’s virginity, pillock. I’m not living there. Besides what would she say if she knew that I was living there,” Spike reasoned. 

“Fine then, move to the mansion on Crawford Street. I want you out of that crypt, Spike. I didn’t say it as a first choice because I know the memories there aren’t good. But it’s better than the cemetery,” Angel explained. 

“Yes, Sire,” Spike teased. 

“Good. Now that that’s settled, it’s one less thing I have to worry about,” Angel said bemused. 

“Uh, Angel? Just who’s going to pay for the mansion? I mean a bloke like me has needs. TV, entertainment, and blood since you won’t let me feed,” Spike inquired. 

“We’ll take care of it when we go back to Sunnydale,” Angel said tiredly. 

“Whatever you say,” Spike said hiding the smirk that crept across his lips. 

“Spike?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Go to sleep already!”


	18. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 14: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 14)_

**_A Week Later_**

“That wasn’t the best way to kill a Roxlar beast!” Angel said. 

“Why? Because it had to be killed via Wesley’s instruction from a centuries-old book?” Spike countered. 

“Those books have been very useful. Why can’t you ever do anything by the book, Spike?” Angel asked. 

“Because, I’m a rebel, mate! Besides it got the job done,” Spike said defensively. 

“Making it a hood ornament for Cordelia’s car was not the best way to kill it!” Angel grumbled. 

“It was going to attack you! I had no other choice! How was I supposed to know you had to impale the head after you chopped it off?” Spike asked petulantly. 

“If you had listened to Wesley in the first place you would _know_ that! So, what did you do? You impaled it on the hood emblem of Cordy’s car!” Angel said. 

“Still killed him, didn’t I?” Spike said. 

“And earned yourself a bill for detailing Cordelia’s car, which by the way, she fully expects you to pay,” Angel reminded him. 

Spike looked at his Sire and batted his eyes. Angel shook his head emphatically. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re not making me pay the bill. You damaged the car; you’re paying for the detail,” Angel said sternly. 

“I’ll pay for it. But, why couldn’t she get a gem of a car? Like my car?” Spike asked. 

“She drives something she can afford, not some 1950s gas hogging jalopy that she stole from someone she ate,” Angel replied. 

“It is not a jalopy! She purrs like a kitten and she’s a classic!” Spike said in defense of his car. 

“Well, it sure as a hell doesn’t get more than twelve miles to the gallon,” Angel accused. 

“Now you’re criticizing my car? Let’s talk about the junk heap you drive,” Spike said. 

“It’s not a junk heap. It’s a 1967 Plymouth GTX. _Now_ , this is a classic car.” 

“My _jalopy_ got me and Dru out a few tight situations. What’s yours done, floor model in a showroom?” 

“I’ll have you know this car as gotten me through . . . burglarizing a vampire’s estate, saving damsels in distress, a few high speed chases through the canyons, getting kidnapped and rescued from a demon gladiator ring, uh . . . and other things I can’t remember right now!” Angel said defensively. 

“Uh huh,” Spike said nodding. He patted his pockets in search of his cigarettes. Finding them, he shook one loose, wrapped his lips around it and pulled it out. Then, he had to hunt for his lighter. Finding it, he lit up, took a long drag and blew it out. 

“Ech! Do you have to do that in the car?” Angel cringed. 

“Do what? The hood’s down and it’s not like you can get cancer,” Spike said. 

“I knew there was an upside to this vampire gig,” Angel muttered. 

“What’s that?” Spike asked, even though he had heard. 

“Nothing, just keep doing your part to kill everyone through secondhand smoke,” Angel said tiredly. 

“Cheerleader’s been making you watch commercials, hasn’t she?” Spike chuckled. 

“Only when she finds me brooding,” Angel said miserably. 

“Fancy that. Never took you as the type to brood. More of a deep thinker, you are.” 

_WELCOME TO SUNNYDALE!_

_Thank God! Anymore of this and I’ll have to stop the car and make him walk_ , Angel thought. 

_I can still hear you, peaches_ , Spike’s inner voice said. 

The first hour of the trip was spent with Spike turning the dial on the radio and stopping to listen and sing along to every punk song he came across. When he was bored with that, he turned the radio off and they started discussing fighting dynamics which led to the Roxlar beast discussion. 

Angel looked over at Spike and cringed as they drove through Sunnydale. His boy had his dirty, scuffed boots on his nice, clean dashboard. Why did his childe always insist on doing everything the opposite of what you ask him? He tried to tell him the best way to kill a Roxlar beast, even shouted it when Spike was busy fighting the thing. Angel didn’t think Spike heard a word he had said until the end. Then, while they were driving to Sunnydale, Spike made him listen to that horrible punk music and listen to the even worse singing. _Cordy thinks I sing badly, she hasn’t heard Spike sing the Ramones Sheena Is a Punk Rocker. At least, I think it was the Ramones._

They drove through town to the abandoned mansions in what used to be the ritzy side of Sunnydale. Angel pulled up in the drive and looked at Spike expectantly. 

“What?” 

“Get out and open the garage door,” Angel said, annoyed. 

“You get out and open it yourself,” Spike said. 

“Damn it, would you just get out and open the fucking door? Why have you been so difficult this entire trip? You knew we had to come back. You have to watch out for her and I have to apologize to her for what I said to her in LA,” Angel said. 

To avoid answering, Spike got out of the car, walked to the garage and pulled the door up. When Angel drove in, he followed and closed the door. Then, he went about unloading the car of all the things he accumulated while staying in LA. This, after two weeks, was a fair amount of junk as far as Angel was concerned. 

Going into the house with the first load, Angel headed toward Spike’s old room, whereas Spike headed toward Angel’s old room. When he discovered that the blonde hadn’t followed him, he went in search of him. Finding him dumping a box on the floor by the king size bed and then turning to walk out and get more, Angel followed suit wondering why Spike had chose this room. 

The furniture and bed had a year’s worth of dust covering the surfaces. The whole house needed a deep cleaning experience. Angel knew a couple of cleaning services he could hire for the job. Cordelia would love it when the bill came. Wouldn’t have to worry about his destiny then, would he? Nope. He’d be able to fit a neat little ashtray after she staked his ass literally while giving him a lecture on how Angel Investigations needed the money more than Spike. 

“So, why did you pick this room?” Angel asked, following him back into the room in question with another load. 

“Bigger bed,” Spike answered as he dropped another box on the floor. 

“That’s all?” Angel was curious. 

“It’s not like you’ll be living here with me. I’ll be living here by myself so why shouldn’t I have the master bedroom?” Spike asked, annoyed. 

“Okay,” Angel said, holding his hands up in surrender. 

He looked at Spike and stepped closer to him. Reaching out, he cupped his hand over the younger vampire’s cheek and rubbed his thumb over the sharp cheekbone. His childe was such a contrast in beauty. The sharp edge of Spike was at the forefront now, complete with his snarky ways. But, Angel could still pick out traces of what he once was. William, the aristocrat in the way he held his body in straight posture, William, the shy poet in the way he sometimes let his guard down and talked so eloquently. William the fledgling was still looking for acceptance and approval from his Sire. Yes, Spike was a very different vampire. There was not one way to describe him, he was many things. 

Unconsciously, Spike pressed into Angel’s touch. “Are you going to be all right living here?” Angel’s voice sounded a little hoarse. 

“Yeah, mate, been living with your ghost for a century now. I think I can manage living here,” Spike assured him. 

“Okay, I’m going to go take care of the thing I came here to do and be right back. Try not to get into too much trouble,” Angel said. 

“Who? Me? I never get into trouble, it just sort of finds me,” Spike replied. 

Angel looked at him skeptically. “William . . .” 

“What?” Spike asked innocently, blinking his big blue eyes at his Sire. 

Angel’s lips curled up at the corners before he turned and left. Spike shook his head. What did his Sire think he was going to do? He just got into town and had to unpack everything again. He had not only brought back clothes and essentials, but books, comic books, poetry books, a few classic novels that he remembered from when he was still human. It figured that Angel considered it junk. But then, Spike had accumulated junk since the ’70s. Stuff he would have to abandon decades later, like when he and Drusilla went to Prague and he couldn’t take everything. He didn’t even get the Desoto until they decided to stay in the States. 

Sometimes he missed her babble. It wasn’t like she made sense at all; it was just background noise to him really. But it was still stabilizing for him. It meant that there was someone who needed him. She may have been his elder sister, but she needed his protection and his companionship. It kept her grounded and he indulged her. 

Now, he had Angel in his life again. Reclaimed by his Sire and even mated to him. Those two things were an anchor for him. Angel wanted him bad enough to renew a Sire-claim and lusted after him enough to mate with him. The connection went deeper than that though. Spike could feel it in his blood. 

**************************

**_The Containment Area of the Initiative_ **

The cells on either side of a narrow walkway are full to capacity with demons. They were flinging themselves at the electrified glass in madness and growling in irritation. Colonel McNamara walked down the passageway with a young lieutenant to the control room. 

“Cell capacity maxed out three days ago, sir,” the lieutenant informed his superior. “We keep up this pace and there will be nowhere left to contain the hostiles. 

“They’re animals, lieutenant,” McNamara stated coldly with a sneer. “We pack them in until we’re out of room and then we pack them in some more.” 

The lieutenant turned a worried expression on his companion. “They’re going to start tearing each other apart, sir.” 

“I don’t see anything wrong with that scenario, do you?” McNamara said nonchalantly. 

“No, sir, if you say so, sir,” The lieutenant stuttered. 

As they reached the other side of the containment area, they intently ignored the two demons in the last cell fighting with their claws at each other’s throats. Walking into the communications room, their attention was immediately drawn to one of the tech officers in the process of receiving distress calls from one of the squads in the field. 

“Back-up team! Request immediate back-up! Over!” a static-voice was heard over the radio. “They’re tearing us apart over here! Two men are down! From out of nowhere! Mayday! Repeat! Mayday!” 

**************************

Riley Finn was holed up in the ruins of Sunnydale High School. He was sitting on a sleeping bag, eating out of a tin can, listening to his former peers over the radio. When the report of hostiles in the area came over the airwaves, he put the can down and picked up his rigged cell phone to listen more closely. 

“Team Epsilon requesting immediate back-up! We’re in the alley behind the school building! Where the hell is – Fall back! Fall back! It’s coming --” a commando ordered over the phone. Just then, the transmission was cut. Riley jumped up and grabbed his commando gear. 

Riley ran down an abandoned street. In the next alley over he could hear the sounds of fighting. As he rounded a corner, a commando went flying across the alley and hit the wall, knocking him unconscious. He heard more struggling and punches further down the alley. He raised his flashlight and shone it on the back of a figure in a long black coat. As soon as the light hit Angel, he whirled around and glared at Riley. 

Angel turned and faced off with the young commando, with three unconscious bodies lying at his feet. Riley lowered the flashlight. 

“Riley Finn,” Angel stated flatly. _So, this was Buffy’s boyfriend. Good, wholesome, farm boy appearance. Pseudo-tough stance. Heh, she could have done better._

Riley, not knowing or caring what the other man thought of him, slipped the flashlight into the pocket of his cargo pants. He studied the tall man, didn’t recognize him, and judged that he wasn’t from Sunnydale. “Do I know you?” 

“We have a friend in common,” Angel said. 

Riley thought for a minute. He still didn’t recognize the guy so what friend could they have in common? _Tall, dark, broody, can hold his own in a fight from the looks of things. Must be the guy Buffy went to see the other day._ It took him a moment before he remembered the name Buffy called him. “Angel.” 

Angel gave a curt nod, took a step forward and glanced down at the commandos still lying unconscious on the ground. “Welcoming committee your idea?” 

Riley ignored the question. He was too bothered by the fact that Buffy’s ex-boyfriend vampire was standing right in front of him. What exactly were this guy’s plans anyway? Did he come to take Buffy back? If he did, he had another thing coming, Riley wouldn’t allow him to just swoop in and steal his girl. 

“The way I heard it, you’re all peaceable now,” Riley said as he carefully stepped closer to his rival. “You didn’t by any chance go and lose that pesky soul again, did you?” 

_What the hell did Buffy tell this kid?_ It was one thing for Spike to push his buttons. Who the fuck did this kid think he was? What did he know about his soul? “Don’t push me, boy,” Angel said in a dangerously calm voice. 

A nervous tick started working in Riley’s jaw. This vampire was making him feel uneasy and he didn’t like it. How dare this _thing_ come into _his_ town and challenge him for his position and his girl? Buffy had glossed over her relationship with this man – demon – but he knew she had left things out. He knew, because Xander had filled him in on a lot of things. The fact that this _demon_ touched Buffy in the most intimate way; that _this demon_ was the thing she gave her virginity to – willingly, set his anger off even more. 

“Now what _possibly_ could have happened with Buffy that would make you lose your soul?” Riley asked through teeth clenched in anger. 

_What kind of question is that?_ Angel furrowed his brow as he walked a slow path around Riley. “That would be between me and her,” he said coolly. 

Riley stepped in front Angel blocking his path and hit the release on the asp in his hand, extending it to a baton. “Where do you think you’re going?” 

Angel’s eyes hardened. This boy was pushing his limits. “I’m going to see an old girlfriend.” 

He stepped aside to go past the boy, but Riley continued to block his way. If the kid didn’t move soon, he would move him. At the moment though, there were a couple of feet apart glaring at each other. 

Riley sneered. “Oh, you really think I’m going to let that happen?” 

“You think you’re going to stop me?” Angel challenged. 

“I surely do,” Riley replied matter-of-factly. 

Angel threw a right cross at Riley’s face but he deflected it with his free hand and struck Angel in the face with the baton. The commando quickly spun into a backhanded swing, but Angel caught his arm, forcing him down on one knee, and slammed a knee into Riley’s face. Still holding onto the arm, Angel pulled him back to his feet and swung him around, throwing him through the air. Riley flew backwards into a large pile of trash and cardboard boxes next to the loading dock of a warehouse. 

Riley scrambled out of the trash heap, onto the loading dock and picked up his baton where it had landed when he was thrown. Angel watched his progress before he leaped high in the air and landed on the dock before the kid could get to his feet. When Angel kicked out at him, Riley used the baton to block it, but the weapon was knocked out of his hand and the vampire punched him across the face. 

Still on his knees, Riley retaliated with a fist to Angel’s groin and the vampire bent over in pain. The commando used the distraction to get to his feet. He grabbed an empty liquor bottle, and smashed it over the dark head. Then, he grabbed Angel by the coat and rammed a knee into his back, which sent him against the building. Angel swung his hand back to hit the kid, but Riley blocked it and slammed the same knee into his stomach. The vampire quickly recovered and grabbed his opponent by the flak jacket, slamming him back against a heavy door. 

Riley swung and hit Angel in the face with a left cross, but Angel slammed him against the door again, and wrapped his hands around his throat. As Riley was forced down under the vampire’s superior strength, he retaliated by pulling out a tazer and shoved it into Angel’s chest. The electric shock threw the vampire back into the trash heap. Riley watched the pile warily as he rose to his feet and jumped into the heap after him. 

Just as Riley was about to launch into him again, Angel raised his head and growled at him in full vampire visage. The commando planted a hard kick into his chest and Angel tumbled out onto the pavement. 

Standing over him, Riley tried to hit him with the tazer again, but Angel caught his wrist, forcing him to drop it, and drove a fist into his stomach. He lifted Riley over his head and growled as he ran with him across the alley and sent him crashing into a group of storage drums against the side of the warehouse. Riley tumbled to the ground where Angel grabbed him again and sent him flying to the other side of the alley. He landed on a pile of large metal conduit tubes, which failed to break his fall and he flopped to the pavement. 

A sound made Angel snap his head up to look out to the mouth of the alley. The sound of an approaching vehicle was getting closer. As much as he would like to spend the rest of the night pounding the kid into the ground, he had things to do, such as apologize to Buffy and get back to Spike before his childe caused trouble. 

Hearing the vehicle get closer, Angel quickly climbed up the side of the warehouse and disappeared over the top. Riley got to his knees shakily and looked up in time to see the hum-vee round the corner. He managed to get to his feet and hurried down a narrow passage between the warehouses on unsteady legs before the headlights swept the alley. 

**************************

**_UC Sunnydale, Buffy’s Dorm_**

Buffy stepped inside her room looking like hell from her run-in with the demon cyborg Adam. Shutting the door, she removed her jacket as she walked over to the mirror on the wall. An ugly bruise was forming around the gash on her forehead and she winced as she barely touched it with her fingers. Just then, she was sidetracked by a knock at the door. She opened it and was surprised to see – 

“Angel,” Buffy breathed. 

“Hi,” he greeted. “Can I come in?” 

“I guess,” Buffy said softly as she stepped back to allow him entrance and then closed the door. When Angel turned to face her, she took notice of the blood on his temple and his split bottom lip. Old feelings of worry kicked in and she nearly ran to hug him but stopped herself. “You’re hurt.” 

“You too,” Angel pointed out. 

Buffy raised her hand to her forehead again before dismissing it. “I’ll live.” More interested in his bruises she said, “You want to tell me who ran your face into that doorknob?” 

Angel winced. He didn’t come back to talk about her boyfriend’s insecurity issues. Though he could now see why bringing Spike back was a good idea if the bruise and gash on her forehead were any indication. “Not really. It’s not world-in-peril stuff.” 

Buffy shrugged. “Let me guess. You thought of something else really hurtful to say and, well, you couldn’t tell me on the phone because the funniest part is that look on my face --” 

“Buffy!” Angel said, breaking into her train of thought. “I really don’t have a lot of time.” 

Hearing the slight urgency in his voice, she asked, “What’s going on?” 

“I brought Spike back with me,” Angel said. 

“You brought _Spike_ with you? Like he’ll be a lot of help,” Buffy scoffed. 

“He can be a great help, Buffy. That’s what he’s done the last two weeks with me in LA. Mostly . . . and aggravate Cordelia and insult Wesley and desecrate Cordy’s car with a Roxlar Beast’s remains,” Angel winced at that, “but for the most part he’s helped.” 

“So you brought him here to what? Insult me and ruin my life?” Buffy said sardonically. 

When did talking to Buffy become so hard? Angel growled softly. “No, Spike’s --” 

Just then, the door burst open and a determined Riley walked in, steadying himself against the shelf of Willow’s desk. He raised his arm and aimed a Baretta at Angel, thumbing back the hammer. 

“I told you, you weren’t coming near her,” Riley said angrily. 

Buffy took one look at her boyfriend’s battered appearance and Angel’s injuries and was livid all over again. “You’ve _got_ to be kidding me. _This_ is why you came?” 

“No. This was an accident,” Angel said. 

“Running a car into a tree is an accident! Running your fist into somebody’s face is a plan! What the hell are you doing Angel?” Buffy yelled. 

Angel didn’t answer her; he was staring at Riley holding the gun on him. When he brought Spike back he didn’t expect this circus. He was beginning to second guess his decision to leave his boy here. Obviously it wasn’t safe for man or beast in Sunnydale. For now though, he had the pressing matter of trying to stop Buffy’s crazed boyfriend from shooting him. 

“Put the gun down,” Angel said calmly. 

“It’s pretty much all I got left, so I’m thinking not,” Riley sneered. He continued to stare and point the gun at Angel as he told Buffy, “He attacked four of my men. I think he’s up to his old tricks.” 

“He won’t hurt anybody,” Buffy said. She turned to Angel, “Tell him!” 

Angel started to move toward Riley and with a restrained voice, said, “I might hurt you.” 

Riley accepted the challenge and stepped forward. “Please try.” 

Angel gave an Angelus smirk. “Heh. Some threat, you can barely stand.” 

Riley brandished the gun in front of Angel’s face. “My trigger finger feels okay.” 

Angel glanced sidelong at Buffy. “You actually sleep with this guy?” 

While his head was turned, Riley took a cheap shot and punched him in the face. Angel responded with a punch back. 

“Okay, stop it!” Buffy stepped between them and shoved them apart. Riley slammed back against Willow’s desk and Angel went flying onto Willow’s bed. “That’s enough! I see one more display of testosterone poisoning and I will personally put you both in the hospital!” She glanced back and forth between them. Riley gave the impression that he still wanted to shoot Angel. “Anybody think I’m exaggerating?” Buffy challenged. 

“He started --” Angel said petulantly. _I’m starting to sound like Spike now._

Buffy pointed a warning finger at him and he shut up. She gave him an irritated expression and walked over to Riley. 

“Riley,” she said softly to get his attention and then glanced at the gun. 

“I’m sorry,” he said before holstering his weapon. “I just wanted to know that you were safe. Who’s Spike?” 

“Spike is a nuisance in the form a vampire,” Buffy said annoyed. 

“Like him?” Riley indicated Angel. 

“Yes, well no, Spike doesn’t have a soul.” 

“Then I can kill him, right?” Riley asked. 

Angel growled at that. _No one_ was touching Spike. After going a round with this _boy_ , the commando just threatened his childe and mate? He had a set of balls on him daring to threaten something like that to a Master Vampire. The old pattern of being the dominant one started to come so easily since he claimed Spike, and the blonde, once he was claimed, subconsciously bowed to him. 

_Of course he did, he’s a natural bottom_ , Angelus said. 

_I wondered what made you go silent_ , Angel said. 

_You seemed to be handling your own with the Slayer’s toy soldier, I didn’t want to interrupt_ , Angelus said. 

_You mean I was doing fine until he tazered me. My ribs still hurt. Then, there was the interruption and I was trying to apologize to Buffy when **he** showed up_ , Angel pouted. 

_You’re a complete nancy boy, you know that. You should thank me for Spike being back in your life. You need a little fun. Why are you so worried about apologizing to her anyway? You did nothing wrong._ Angelus said. 

_I **am not** \-- You’ve been hanging around Spike too much you know that, you’re starting to use his insults a lot more these days. And, yes, I do need to apologize to her for what I said_ , Angel said. 

_So, you kicked her out of LA, it’s your town anyway. She had no right to come down and tell you how to do your job. Do you think I ever let Darla tell me how to torture and kill someone? Okay, so she tried to, but did I ever listen? No!_ Angelus said. 

_Angelus never let anyone tell him what to do. A bloody killing marvel he was, no need to perfect something like that_ , Spike’s inner voice popped in. 

Angelus preened under the praise. 

_So, what are we talking about? Has he apologized to the Slayer for everything real or imagined yet?_ Spike asked with feigned interest. 

_No, he’s letting that commando freak and the Slayer argue it out_ , Angelus said. 

_Will you two stop! There will be no family conferences in my head unless I’m alone, which I’m not!_ Angel growled. 

_Oh, come on, peaches. It’s quite nice in here. Lots of space and very gloomy,_ Spike said. 

_Well, we’d meet in Spike’s head but I don’t think there’s anything worth it there_ , Angelus said dryly. 

_Hey! What’s with the insult to my noggin? I rather like it inside my head. There’s just more people inside Angel’s. It’s like a small party_ , Spike grinned. _Oh, we could meet in Angelus’ head, ought to be something interesting there._

There was a mental slap to the back of Spike’s head. _You **are** in my head, idiot. I’m just not the one driving. More like simulating steering gestures. Not that soul boy ever goes the way I want_ , Angelus grumbled. 

_Lucky me_ , Angel thought. _Can you two at least keep it down? I have a situation going on at the moment_ , Angel said as he put his palms against his eyes and shook his head to clear it. Now was not the best time to be in a discussion with your childe and suppressed inner demon. Angel refocused on the scene before him. Buffy had her hand on Riley’s arm and was talking softly to him. 

“I need to talk to Angel for a minute,” she told Riley. 

“What?” Riley asked, exasperated. He couldn’t believe that she wanted to be alone with this evil thing. He still hadn’t figured out why she wouldn’t let him dust the vampire. Now, with this Spike in town . . . Who were these vampires and what were they to Buffy? She said Angel was her ex, but he could still see the furtive looks that passed between them even now. 

“Riley, please,” Buffy pleaded with him. She had to find out what Angel and Spike were up to. She couldn’t do that with her ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend bound and determined to kill each other. 

Riley looked over at Angel who’s sitting on Willow’s bed, uncaring of the discussion between him and Buffy, arms on his knees as he flipped through one of Willow’s magic supply magazines. _How can he feel so comfortable?_ Riley looked down at Buffy again. “I’m not leaving this room,” Riley said firmly as he crossed his arms. “I mean it.” 

Riley continued to glare at Angel and Buffy looked over her shoulder. When she got his attention, she gave him a slight tilt of her head, and then walked past Riley to the door. Angel stood up to follow her and didn’t even bother to hide the smirk on his face as he passed Riley. Then, he thought about what Riley had said about Spike and turned back. 

“You ever think about going after Spike with the intent to harm him, I will know about it and if he hasn’t killed you first, you can bet I will. You think tonight was bad, you haven’t met my evil side,” Angel said firmly. He turned and walked out and closed the door, leaving Riley alone. 

A tick started working in Riley’s jaw again. Angel’s threat infuriated him. It was just one vampire, and he had taken on sixteen vampires so far. But, this one vampire had kicked his ass all over the alley. Somehow, even though Buffy said she had dated him for three years, it didn’t sink in that Angel was an old vampire, much older than those the Initiative captured around Sunnydale. 

Out in the empty hall, Buffy turned on Angel just as he shut the door. 

“Okay. I come to see you, to _help_ you, and you treat me like I’m just . . . your ex,” she said angrily. 

“Well, technically --” Angel started to say. 

“Shut up! And then you _order_ me out of _your_ city and then you come here and start pounding on my boyfriend?! I would really like to know what the _hell_ you are trying to do?!” Buffy yelled angrily. 

“I was trying to make things better,” Angel said sincerely. 

She regarded his expression and couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing her laugh made Angel smile at the situation they were now in. Here he was worried about the awkwardness of seeing her again and telling her that he brought Spike back to watch out for her and now they were in an awkward moment because of her overzealous boyfriend. 

“Well,” he chuckled. “It’s a . . . going pretty good, don’t you think?” 

Buffy leaned against the wall with a smile. “Swell.” 

“You know –.” He sobered up and became serious. “I couldn’t leave it like that. The way I spoke to you – I came to apologize. I . . . I had no right.” 

“What about Riley?” Buffy inquired. 

“I got jumped by some soldiers. He showed up in the middle and wasn’t real forthcoming with the benefit of the doubt,” Angel explained. 

Buffy pursed her lips and looked at her ex-boyfriend. “Put yourself in his place.” 

Angel took a moment to consider it, not the fight, but the statement of going to see an old girlfriend. That would throw him too. Especially since he had Spike, but he wasn’t coming to see her to reconnect with her, only to apologize and tell her about Spike. “I get it.” 

Buffy looked down at the floor while she decided the best way to make her own apology. “Look . . . you weren’t entirely wrong about you said in L.A.” She looked up at him. “We don’t live in each other’s worlds anymore. I had no right to barge in on yours and make judgments.” 

“I’m still sorry,” he said. 

“Thank you,” Buffy said. She wanted to thank him for a lot of things since he came into her life, but their moment was already lost. They couldn’t bring it back. 

“And, next time . . . I’ll apologize by phone,” he told her. 

Buffy laughed softly. “What about Spike? Why did you bring him back? It’s not safe for anyone here, Angel, most of all for vampires. It’s not just me they have to worry about anymore.” 

“Things do seem pretty tense around here,” he agreed. 

Buffy rested her head back against the wall tiredly. “They really are.” 

“Can I do anything?” Angel asked. 

“Honestly . . .” she looked at him, “I think the best thing you can do right now is --” 

Angel understood her message. “Okay.” 

“It means a lot that you came,” she said sincerely. “But why Spike of all people?” 

“Let me ask you this: you once told me you were always going to be my girl. Then, you come down to L.A. and tell me that you met this great guy who you love and trusted more than you did me. It’s great you found someone, Buffy. Whatever we were or are to each other will be always be there. But, you aren’t the only one that gets to move on. I brought Spike back to look after you. He’s here to help you, because I can’t. You could use his help,” he said. He looked at her for a moment and then started walking down the hall. Buffy headed to her door when Angel turned around again. “Oh and . . . Riley.” 

“Yes?” 

“I don’t like him,” he confirmed. 

Buffy nodded. “Thank you.” 

Angel turned and continued down the hall. Buffy watched him for a couple of seconds, remembering all the things she loved about him. She loved how he carried himself even with all his burdens. She turned back to her door and remembered that Riley waited on the other side. Her life with Angel was long past, her future with Riley lay just beyond her door. With that thought she opened the door and walked inside. 

**************************

**_Crawford Street Mansion_**

After the little inner discussion with Angel and Angelus, Spike resumed unpacking. That was until he found a bottle of Château la Tour. He didn’t remember packing the liquor. Angel must have put it in there moments before they left his place. He set the bottle aside and unpacked the rest of the box. Looking at the clock on the bedroom’s fireplace mantel he noted the time and thought Angel should have been back by now. 

He didn’t feel any negative vibes in the bond so he knew that his Sire wasn’t currently fucking his soul out with the Slayer. That gave him a sense of relief. Damn, these claims were really turning him into a sensitive ponce these days. _I’m still the Big Bad damn it!_

Spike put the bottle down and went to sit in the wing-backed chair in front of the cold fireplace. Angel had left a lot of furniture at the mansion when he left for L.A., the dark mahogany bedroom set being one of the many items. He sat back and contemplated the turns his un-life had taken in the last year. He contemplated, he didn’t brood. Brooding was Angel’s thing. 

It was how Angel found him when he came into the room, still in deep thought. The dark vampire walked in and closed the door softly behind him. Taking in the room, he saw that Spike had finished packing. Then, he noticed the wine bottle sitting on a table. _So, he found it._ That thought made Angel smile, and then frown. _Why was he sitting there is silence?_ He went over to the chair and watched Spike. 

“I thought it was too quiet in my head with only Angelus there. What are you thinking about? You can’t possibly be brooding,” Angel said. 

“I don’t brood, and it’s nothing, just thinking,” Spike said dismissively. 

“Well, this can’t be right. You’re here thinking about nothing after you found the bottle of wine and didn’t drink it in the next minute?” Angel put his hand to Spike’s forehead to check his temperature. “Are you feeling all right? You’re not sick are you?” 

Spike pulled away from him. _The very idea! Can’t a bloke just sit and think without there being something wrong with him?_ “You’re not funny. Vampires don’t get sick.” 

Angel tapped on his arm. “Come on. We’ll open up that bottle and sit by the . . . unmade fire? In all that brooding you couldn’t have built a fire?” He walked over to the huge fireplace and started working on getting some warmth in the room. 

“I don’t brood!” Spike said petulantly. He got up and searched through the cabinets in an armoire until he found Angelus’ best glasses. He kept them here to drink at his leisure without being disturbed. Then, he collected the bottle and sat on the rug in front of the hearth, watching Angel work. 

This sense of connection still felt odd. Spike should be fighting Angel’s dominance at every turn. But, here they were about to sit in front of a blazing fire, enjoying each other’s company, like what? Lovers? He wasn’t some tenderhearted, sappy girl who needed to be romanced. So, what was this? The Big Bad in him cringed at what this might mean. The William in him enjoyed the reminder of the old days when it was Angelus and not Angel that was in his company. But, it was Angel now, and they hated each other, right? They shouldn’t be this intimate without killing each other. The claims were bringing new dimensions to their relationship and Spike didn’t know if he liked it. It was strange. 

Angel stoked the fire a few times and then turned and sat beside Spike. He opened the bottle and poured them both a glass of wine, and then quietly watched the flames. He wasn’t thinking so much of life’s little turns like Spike. His thoughts were more on tonight’s events. Meeting Riley for one; what did Buffy see in that boy? 

Angel had spent the last four years helping Buffy, teaching her that the world wasn’t always black and white and here she was dating a boy who only thought it was black and white. That all demons should die because they were different, not because of their nature or integrity. Riley wanted to kill him with or without a soul. It didn’t matter that he was trying to redeem himself of his past sins. Buffy told him last Christmas that he could make amends, but this boyfriend of hers had no knowledge of the tremendous effort undertaken to do something like make amends for a hundred and fifty years of killing for food and pleasure. This same boy wants to kill Spike just for being a vampire. 

Angel looked over at Spike. The blonde was watching the fire, giving his Sire a profile view of his features. Angel admired the angular face. The way firelight made his boy’s cheekbones look sharper and the cheeks more hollow was striking. He was a beautiful youth when Drusilla found him in the barn that fateful night. But now, he had such an amazing artistic beauty. ‘Beautiful’ wasn’t always used to describe a man, but that’s what Spike was. This creature had consented to the claims. He expected Spike to fight it harder than he did. It was puzzling to him that the blonde hadn’t pulled against them. He bet Spike was even more perplexed, even if he hadn’t put a voice to it yet. 

Angel wanted to test the bond a bit to see if Spike was truly in synch with him. He took Spike’s half empty glass and his own and set them aside. The blonde vampire turned a confused expression on him. Putting thoughts of Buffy and Riley aside for now, he took his shirt off and motioned for Spike to do the same. 

“What are you up to, peaches? Did the Slayer get you all worked up? Or was it the fight with her new boy toy?” Spike asked. 

Angel shook his head at the mention of Buffy and growled at the mention of Riley. He watched silently as Spike pulled the black t-shirt over his head. His chocolate gaze roamed over the alabaster skin. Then, he gave a predatory growl. 

Spike knew his Sire, as Angelus, was a jealous demon. But, he never took Angel for being jealous over him. He could feel the other vampire’s eyes rake over his torso like hot coals. Whatever happened in Buffy’s dorm had caused this change in Angel. Not that he was complaining about it but he wondered what set him off. He had just taken the shirt off when he heard Angel growl. Looking at his Sire he saw that Angel was naked to the waist as well. He wasn’t as thin as he was when they first met in Sunnydale. He had filled out quite nicely and was all muscle, which was just how he had remembered Angelus. 

Angel moved to his hands and knees and started a slow prowl toward Spike. The blond followed suit and moved until they were circling each other. Angel growled again as he stared at his childe. Spike could feel the other vampire on the edges of his mind and he growled back before opening his mind. 

Angel shifted a bit closer toward the center and continued to prowl the imaginary circle. Every so often he would catch Spike’s eye and they would growl low at each other. They continued to move as he gently slipped inside the blonde’s head. The outside world, the room they were in, the predator-circle, dropped away. 

_“Why are we here, Angel?” Spike asked._

_“Angelus said there was nothing worth it inside your head. I wanted to see if he was right,” Angel replied._

_Angel looked around and saw that they were in some sort of parlor or drawing room. The room was decorated in nineteenth century furnishings. There were real candelabras on the walls and fireplace mantel. The chairs had high backs with wings. There was even a settee. There was nothing modern about this setting and Angel knew how much Spike loved modern inventions._

_“This is your ideal place?” Angel asked in awe._

_“Yes,” Spike said simply._

_“Why is it decorated like this? You were always on about the great modern world,” Angel said._

_“Just because I love some things in the modern world, doesn’t mean I don’t miss the places I’ve been. I may be evil and soulless, Sire. But I still have a memory and favorites, just like anyone else,” Spike said._

_“I didn’t mean it like that Spike. It’s just surprising. For as long as I’ve known you in the Spike persona and how hard you try to push that to the forefront, I sometimes forget what you were like before you were turned,” Angel said._

_“You mean as William the Weakling and a bloody awful poet besides? Being turned did a wonder for my personality don’t you think?” Spike asked quietly with a bit of cynicism._

_“Spike, I didn’t come here to argue with you,” Angel said as he turned to face Spike. But, Spike had moved to a bureau where a lot of crystal decanters were lined up._

_“Will you be having a Brandy, Sire?” Spike asked in the proper English that William once used._

_“Sure, I’ll have one,” Angel said._

_Spike poured two glasses and handed one to Angel. They each took a sip and moved to stand at the fireplace. The elder vampire set his glass on the mantel and reached out to turn his childe toward him._

_“Buffy’s tin soldier said something to upset you. That’s why you got possessive when you started the circle. Why would what a human says about me bother you now? I’ve been well enough on my own since you left us in China. I don’t understand what you are doing with the claims, Sire,” Spike said._

_“You’re my childe and I’ve been very neglectful in my duties as your Sire. Riley Finn has threatened what belongs to me. You may tell the humans what you will, but you know it is true, William. I have claimed you in every way that I know. I took you from Drusilla with a Sire-claim. I’ve since renewed that claim and placed a mating claim on you. You are mine. Yet, you still don’t know your place in here. I think that being apart between cities has a bit to do with that. Our day will come again, Spike. But, right now we have other obligations. You have to be here for Buffy. Your strength can help her when she needs it,” Angel explained._

_“And then what? She uses me until there’s nothing left?” Spike quipped._

_“Not nothing. You’ll have me. It’s why we’re here,” Angel said._

_“Why we’re here? You know you’re as confusing as Dru to follow. All these cryptic messages, I can see why Buffy is a bit crazy. Between you stalking her and the limerick nonsense, it made her loopy,” Spike said._

_The corners of Angel’s mouth quirked up in a half-smile._

_“Okay, now I know we’re in a dream state. You’re smiling **with** a soul,” Spike said._

_“Hey, I smile. It’s just not very often. Besides, from what Angelus has been telling me, I need some fun in my life,” Angel said._

_“Okay, but we can’t have fun in here. It’s just an illusion. So, again I ask . . . why are we here?” Spike asked._

_“For this,” Angel said._

_He stepped up to Spike, grabbed the back of his head and pulled him close for a kiss. He invaded his childe’s mouth with his tongue and explored the recesses. Then, he pulled away and let go of Spike._

_Spike’s eyes opened and he sounded indignant when he said, “You brought us here for a kiss? We couldn’t have done that out there?”_

_“It wasn’t just any kiss. I was--” Angel was about to explain when Spike’s eyes widened._

_Spike could feel something work through him. It was like a slow crawl through his body as it spread. What had Angel done to him? He flexed his hands, clenching them into fists and stretching them out again. He felt . . . stronger. He looked up at the other vampire and saw him differently. There was a blue screen around his Sire. Spike looked down at his own body again until the rush was over and then refocused on Angel and saw the screen had vanished._

_“What happened to me?” Spike asked._

_“I gave you a part of my strength. After this we can’t be any more connected. Everything we feel, every nuance, every impression we have, the other will experience it,” Angel explained._

_“Why?”_

_“You belong to me as much as I belong to you with the claims in place, and I want to keep you as safe as I can. I know you don’t completely understand the connection we have. But, for me it’s stronger than anything I ever felt. I want to continue to explore it . . . with you,” Angel said._

_Spike nodded because he had lost the ability to speak. The whole experience had him floored. Angel, his Sire, the ponce with the fluffy soul had just done something that Spike never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would do._

_“Are you ready to go back?” Angel asked._

_“Yeah,” Spike said, still in awe._

_Angel led the way out of the room with a mystified Spike following._

_As the room shifted back into focus, they were still circling each other, only this time they were in the center and mere inches apart. They stared at each other in full vampire face; each growled and attacked the other. They rolled on the floor until Spike straddled Angel and pinned him to the floor._

“So, I am stronger than you,” Spike observed from his position atop his Sire. 

“No, you’re stronger than you used to be,” Angel said. He bucked against Spike, threw him off and switched position. “But, you’re not stronger than me.” 

Spike looked up at him. “Is it the fact that you know I would win if we ever truly fought? Or is that you just can’t stand the thought of me topping you better?” 

“I’m your Sire, you can’t top me,” Angel stated. 

“One of these days, _Sire_. We’ll see about that,” Spike promised. 

“All prophetic now are you?” Angel inquired. 

“No, but I know you. I can slip inside your mind now; find out all those hidden secret fantasies of yours,” Spike smirked. 

“Ah,” Angel nodded. “Well, along with that little trick you learned, you forget that I can do that too. But, the difference is? You have to go searching for mine, when I’ve known yours since the day Dru brought you home,” he stated confidently. 

“And what’s that, Angel?” Spike asked as he raised the scarred brow. 

Angel leaned down close to his face until they were eye-to-eye. “You want to be dominated, by Him and by me.” 

Before Spike could process what he just said, Angel swooped down and buried his face in the curve of his neck and was tearing into the flesh with his fangs. His Sire had started this in a possessive mood and by the feel of the teeth digging deeper into his neck, it didn’t look like that feeling had abated any. Not that he was complaining, though he growled when Angel first struck. 

Spike grabbed for the other vampire’s shoulders and dug his nails in next to the gryphon tattoo. Four small streams of blood slowly trickled down Angel’s back and side. The scent of Sire’s blood teased Spike until he raised his hips and rubbed his jean-covered erection against Angel’s. His elder was still bearing down though. 

When Angel finally buried the top set of his fangs in to the gum line, he relaxed against Spike. He wasn’t just tasting his childe’s blood or even renewing the claims. It was more primal than that. It was a possessive bite, fitting Angel’s mood. Spike knew the scar would be deeper with teeth indentations and it wouldn’t heal and disappear to thin lines like the others had. This one may as well be a beacon with a sign that said: PROPERTY OF ANGEL. 

Spike reached down between them, opened Angel’s pants, reached inside, and wrapped his fingers around the huge appendage. It didn’t just _feel_ huge, it _was_ huge. If there was one thing that didn’t change when his Sire got a soul, it was the monster between his legs. Spike smirked inwardly at that thought. 

“Sire!” Spike gasped when he started to feel drained. 

Angel eased his fangs out of the blonde’s neck and licked the wounds of any escaping blood, letting it heal on its own. When he refocused on where they were, Angel felt Spike’s hand stroking his cock. He rose up a little and reached down to open Spike’s jeans, thanking Spike silently for never wearing underwear. 

Spike jerked under his touch when Angel took hold of his dick and started to work him over. He tightened his grip on his Sire’s shaft and matched the other vampire’s pace. Soon, all that could be heard were growls and groans as they strained against each other in a vain attempt to come. 

_Why do we always end up on the floor with this? Ever since that first time after I healed, this has always ended up on the floor, when there is a perfectly good, big bed to be used._ Spike mused over their present situation. 

_If you want it on the bed, it means I’ll have to stop what I’m doing and I really don’t want to do that_ , Angel’s inner voice answered. 

_It doesn’t have to be a problem. I’m sure we could work around it. All we have to do is get up and move to the bed_ , Spike said. 

_And you said I’ve gone soft. Look at you. Two weeks of staying with me and you want sex in the bed_. Angel teased. 

_Yeah, well your place had real wood flooring with rugs. This is stone and very uncomfortable. I bet there are crypts with better flooring._ Spike said dryly. 

Angel reluctantly let go of his childe’s cock and helped him up. Once they were both standing, he immediately started to remove the last articles of clothing. Then, he pulled the covers down and pushed Spike back on the bed. Angel lay over him and ground his cock up against Spike’s. The movement was so forceful; it sent the other vampire sliding across the bed. 

“Angel, you have to stop with the possessive streak. I’m not going anywhere,” Spike moaned. He didn’t know what Buffy’s commando told Angel, but this possessiveness of his was killing the mood. 

Angel grunted an acknowledgment. He tried to ease up since he started this, but he kept seeing Riley Finn and hearing his voice as he asked Buffy if he could kill Spike. _No, no, no, that wasn’t happening. That fucking boy toy of Buffy’s isn’t going to lay a hand on my boy. I’ll break his fingers if he does_. 

In his frustration, Angel didn’t realize he was tightening an already tight grip on Spike’s wrist on the pillow. He looked down at Spike who looked up at him. Yellow eyes had melted back into blue and were staring at him, trying to discern his mood. 

Spike felt the link between them. He now used it to see why his Sire was completely bent. Still staring up at Angel, he relaxed and slipped inside the dark vampire’s mind. He found the memories from earlier tonight: 

_“Spike is a nuisance in the form a vampire,” Buffy said annoyed._

_“Like him?” Riley indicated Angel._

_“Yes, well no, Spike doesn’t have a soul.”_

_“Then I can kill him, right?” Riley asked._

Angel growled when he felt Spike push the memory to forefront of his mind. Spike reached over to the night stand where he had placed the lube when he unpacked and held it in front of his Sire’s face. Angel snatched it and popped the top on the bottle. Sitting back on his heels, he went about preparing himself and Spike. Throwing the lube to the side, he immediately leaned over and thrust his cock inside his boy. 

Spike grunted at the slick, rough entry. He figured that he should count his lucky stars that Angel had even used the lubricant at all in his state of mind. Though, he now understood the reason behind his mood. He bucked against the dark vampire’s thrusts, clenching his ass around the cock that was moving in and out in long, hard strokes. Angel rose above him, grabbed his hips, and angled them. 

“Fuck yeah, Angel,” Spike groaned when his Sire started thumping against his prostate. 

“Is it right there? Am I hitting it just right? Hmm, Spike?” 

“Yessss,” Spike hissed. “Angel.” 

Angel complied by lying over the blonde and pounding into him. Spike raised his legs up to wrap around his Sire’s waist and proceeded to pull him as deep as he could. Angel reached between them and stroked Spike’s cock to the tempo of his thrusts as he nipped at his boy’s shoulder. 

Spike rocked his hips between his Sire’s fist and cock pounding into him. He clawed at Angel’s back as he strained toward his impending orgasm. “Fuck me, Angel!” he growled in sexual frustration. 

Angel felt Spike squirm under him trying to find the quickest way to an orgasm. He tilted his head and offered his neck as his reopened his claim mark on Spike. The blonde dove for the bared throat and sank his fangs in deep before drawing on Sire’s blood. He growled against Angel’s neck as his orgasm rushed over him and it spurted out all over the other vampire’s hand and their stomachs. Then he felt his Sire’s come flood his bowels. Angel collapsed on him and they groaned before the purring started in unison. 

_You’re mine. I’ll protect you any way I can, Will_ , was the last thought Spike remembered before he drifted off. 

Angel carefully pulled free of Spike and lay on his side with his head propped up on his elbow watching his boy for the longest time before sleep took him as well.


	19. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 15: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 15)_

**_Crawford Street Mansion_**

Angel was drowsy. He wanted to sleep longer, but his senses were keeping him from it. He reached out for Spike and didn’t feel his boy beside him. Concentrating on the sensations coming from his lower regions, Angel slid his hand down the bed, under the covers and laced his fingers through Spike’s hair. The gel had worked out somewhat during sleep, leaving the normally slicked back hair with stiff ringlets. 

Still too tired to open his eyes, Angel lay there and enjoyed Spike’s ministrations. Normally he was the early riser, but from the feel of things, Spike had woken up maybe an hour ago. Too relaxed to move, he turned his head and cracked an eye open to glance at the clock. 3:45 p.m. They had managed to sleep a good portion of the day. Angel shut his eyes and tried to regain the tranquil feeling before he lost it. _Relaxed. Not completely awake. Feeling Spike touch me. There we go._ He buried his fingers in the blonde hair under the covers and arched against his boy’s touch. 

Spike was settled between Angel’s legs, stroking the monolith that had buggered him into oblivion the night before, kissing and nipping over his Sire’s navel. He mouthed words against Angel’s stomach that he knew he would never say out loud: _Master, lover, beloved_. He imagined that they were being imprinted on his Sire’s skin each time he pressed his lips to the muscled flesh. 

Feeling Angel’s fingers work through his hair, Spike moved down a little more and licked the shaft from the tip to the heavy sacs. The covers drowned out the growl from above as he teased his lover. When he purposefully missed the places Angel wanted him to go, his Sire tightened his hold at the nape of his neck and dragged his mouth over the neglected areas. Angel’s aggressive behavior may have lessened in the last twelve hours of sleep, but there were traces of it still present. That made Spike chuckle. 

With a hand still on the back of the blonde head, Angel guided Spike up his body as his boy crawled out from under the covers, only to stop at his lips. He parted his lips under Spike’s and ghosted his tongue over the full lips covering his own. The kiss was tender, just a faint, gentle touch. It couldn’t be described as a lover’s kiss. A kiss like that was hot, passionate, hungry and devouring. This kiss was something he would have bestowed on Buffy. 

Buffy who was too pure for him even though they had made love once. She was still chaste even if she was fucking that army punk nowadays. She was too good for anyone including himself. Buffy was flesh and blood and human. She would never understand a demon’s desires. The need to own, to possess, to sink fangs and cock deep into your lover’s body and feel them bite and claw and scratch your skin until you bled. 

She didn’t know, but Spike did. He was a demon, his blood, his family, his childe. Spike knew what lay under the surface. There were no illusions with him. Spike’s own revelry in being what he was never allowed Angel to forget and lose himself. For that, he was grateful. 

“You’re brooding again.” Spike’s voice sounded far away. 

Angel looked up. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t even realize Spike had pulled away to watch him with a creased brow. The dark vampire reached up and smoothed the lines on his childe’s forehead. “I was just thinking,” he said. 

“Now, there’s a shock,” Spike commented dryly. 

Angel’s lips quirked up in a smile. A tight knot in his chest that he didn’t even know was there, relaxed considerably. He didn’t trust Angelus’ word that he would not make an appearance and now he had the added security of Spike to keep him grounded. He looked up at the blonde whose head was cocked to one side looking at him with those big blue eyes under long sooty lashes. Angel caressed his fingertips over the high cheekbones, brushing them along the hallow cheeks, and then tracing them over Spike’s full red lips. 

Spike watched his Sire’s dark eyes smolder as his fingers caressed his face. He felt like retching at the sappiness of the moment. The kiss and the touches were too light for his liking. He liked gentleness at times, but this was starting to get downright sickening sweet. When Angel traced his lips with his fingertips, Spike opened his mouth, bit down on the pads of his fingertips and sucked gently on the beads of blood that welled up. 

Angel moaned softly when Spike bit into his index finger. When he felt his childe draw on the blood, he moved his finger around in the cool mouth, spreading the red liquid on his boy’s tongue. His cock hardened between them while he watched his childe’s throat work up and down as he swallowed Sire’s blood. He could watch Spike forever. It was going to hurt emotionally when he had to leave him to go back to L.A. tonight. He could feel the tightening in his chest at the thought. 

Angel pulled his fingers out of Spike’s mouth, wrapped his hand around the back of the blonde head and pulled him back to his lips. Opening the younger vampire’ mouth with his tongue, he slipped inside, tasted his own blood and groaned. Reaching down to wrap his other hand around Spike’s hardened length, Angel rolled them over and pinned the blonde beneath him. 

Spike glided his nails down Angel’s back as his Sire nipped at his chin and licked a path down his throat. He closed his eyes at the wonderful sensation when his elder found a favored spot and started sucking on it. This version of Possessive Angel he could handle. This is the one he knew to be his Sire in his true form. Angelus was like this, claiming him rough and passionately. He growled when Angel tightened his grip and began to jerk his cock in slow, sure strokes. Spike didn’t even feel his Sire move before he cried out when the other vampire bit his nipple. 

“Angel, fuck!” Spike groaned as he arched against the sensual assault. 

“I need you. Need you to come, Spike. Want to remember this after I leave. God, I don’t want to leave you here. The claims are still new, barely tested,” Angel moaned between kisses to Spike’s chest and abdomen. 

Spike only moaned in response as Angel’s hands and mouth worked him over thoroughly. He could feel the possessiveness come through the claim as well as his Sire’s fangs as they scraped over his taut stomach muscles. He reached down and slid his fingers into the dark hair and arched against Angel’s mouth. 

Angel smirked inwardly when he felt Spike respond to him. _He was always so responsive_. He wanted to mark his boy all over, brand him as his. The claims and possessive feelings were driving him. He wanted to absorb his childe and take him with him. Why did he insist that Spike stay here to watch after Buffy? Why did he feel beholden to her? He knew he had promised Whistler long ago that he would help her, but she didn’t need him or Spike with her now. Then, the cold water of reality splashed down on him: Riley Finn. He didn’t trust the boy with Buffy’s welfare. It didn’t matter that she was dating the army wannabe. Spike had to be here to watch her back and keep her alive, because he sure as hell didn’t trust a mortal man to do it. 

When Angel ground his teeth at that thought, he inadvertently sank his fangs into the side of Spike’s stomach causing the blonde to tighten the hold in his hair and arch under him. He buried them for a few seconds before he retracted them and licked the wounds clean. 

“Fuck, Angel . . . what’s with the biting?” Spike asked through a groan. 

“Sorry,” Angel apologized softly. “I didn’t mean to bite you there.” 

Spike gave a noncommittal growl as he watched his Sire move to the other side, licking his flesh. Being a demon had some perks: excellent hearing, remarkable night vision, amazing appetite for sex and blood, usually at the same time, and the extraordinary sense of touch. With his Sire vamped, he could feel every one of Angel’s taste buds scrape over his navel. It was scratchy and if he was licked over and over in the same spot, it was rather painful, like rubbing sandpaper over an open sore. But, God, his Sire knew just where to touch him, in what way and for how long. Spike could plainly see that that had never diminished in all the years they had been apart. 

At some unknown point in the last two weeks, Spike had unconsciously slipped back into the old patterns around Angel. Laying back and enjoying his Sire’s attention was something William did when Angelus deigned to acknowledge him as something other than uncouth. In the twenty years they were together with the girls, Angelus may have considered them all his property, but that didn’t mean he showed you any affection other than to get what he wanted when he wanted it. Being souled now, Angel probably either didn’t remember how he was back then, or had completely forgotten in favor of other memories. Angelus had never been this possessive with the biting though. 

_What the bloody hell is up with that? Has to be the soddin' claims._ Spike didn’t know what else would cause this reaction in his Sire. If Angel was like this after everything, then why wasn’t he the same way? Spike lay there, still feeling Angel’s caress, thinking about what was going on. His Sire was fine in L.A.; he was fine on the drive back. He didn’t get possessive until after he came back from seeing the Slayer and her toy soldier. 

_All this possessiveness was over a mortal boy?_ Spike mused. 

_He threatened to kill you_ , Angel’s inner voice said. 

_People threaten to kill me all the time, mate. Including you_ , Spike responded. 

_That’s different. I made you. I only threaten to kill you because you aggravate me so damn much. If Buffy threatens to kill you it’s because it’s her calling. She’s made to kill vampires. It’s the way of things. But, Riley Finn doesn’t know you from Adam. Where the fuck does he get off threatening to dust you just for being a vampire_ , Angel explained petulantly. 

_He doesn’t know the real me and I’d like to keep it that way. Don’t want to be friends with the git. I could care less whether he likes me or not. You wanted me here for your girl, so I am. I’m not a fledgling anymore, Angel. I can take care of myself. I have for a century now._ Spike reminded him. 

Angel looked up from teasing the crook of Spike’s pelvis with his tongue and watched his boy. The blonde was staring back at him through lidded eyes. Even with them shuttered like that Angel could still see that they were the brightest blue shade. Though, they were currently turning into an indigo color with Spike’s arousal. 

“You’ll be careful and watch your back right?” Angel asked. 

“Yes, daddy,” Spike said childishly. 

Angel’s brow rose at that. “Did you just call me ‘daddy’?” 

“Yeah. Want to make something of it?” Spike challenged. 

“I thought Dru was the only one with ‘daddy’ issues,” Angel said to himself. He crawled up Spike’s body and straddled the blonde’s hips, pressing their cocks together. “I never thought my boy had a daddy kink.” 

“I don’t, ponce. I was being sarcastic,” Spike said in disgust. 

“Ahh, so it’s a closet kink, huh? What else do you have hidden in that closet of yours, childe?” Angel teased. 

“If you don’t already know, then I’m not telling you,” Spike said. 

“Why not, we could explore them,” Angel suggested as he lazily stroked their cocks together. 

“Oh, no we couldn’t. Most of my kinks are illegal in about forty-eight states and five countries, and the others would burden your already haggard soul,” Spike breathed. 

“Murder and mayhem on your mind?” Angel groaned. 

“I’m a vampire Angel. What? You can’t tell me you don’t feel the urge under all that soul you got in there,” Spike said through clenched teeth. 

“I won’t lie to you, Spike . . . It’s still there . . . It was there last night when Finn threatened to kill you. The soul tries to suppress them as much as possible . . . but they are still there,” Angel confided as he tightened his fist around their lengths. 

“Good to know . . . that you can still acknowledge the demon . . . inside you. I was beginning to think . . . you were a lost cause,” Spike said as he arched up, thrusting his dick into his Sire’s fist. 

Angel leaned down close to Spike and looked into his eyes. Then, he shifted to his human disguise and back to his demon. “Never lost William just misguided at times.” 

Spike shifted into his demon and pulled Angel down for a hard kiss. After several seconds, the dark vampire pulled away and slapped his boy on the ass. 

“Time to get up. I got things to do before I leave tonight,” Angel announced. 

Spike fell back on the pillows and groaned. He was definitely going to make Angel take care of this before he left town. He watched Angel get up and walk out of the room naked to the living room where they left their luggage. The bloody bastard left him hard and before his Sire got out of the bed he could see as well as feel the stiff cock that Angel would be packing around for the rest of the day. At this rate, Spike figured the sexual frustration would cause him to combust. 

“What are you still doing in bed?” Angel asked as he came into the room with his jeans open and no shirt on. 

Spike looked up at Angel with a smirk. He ran his hand down his muscled torso as his eyes raked up and down his Sire’s hot body. Even when he hated Angel for the abandonment, he could still admire Angel’s perfectly built physique. When his eyes got to his elder’s waist, he went further and noticed the tip of Angel’s cock peeking out from the flap of his jeans. 

Spike licked his lips and sat up. He trapped Angel’s legs between his thighs and ran his hands up Angel’s hips. Grabbing his Sire’s waistband, he pulled the flaps open wider and licked along the navel. Then, he reached in and wrapped his fingers tight around Angel’s cock and stroked the length. 

Angel buried his fingers in Spike’s hair, closed his eyes for a moment and groaned. When he opened his eyes again and looked down he saw Spike’s full lips wrap around the head of his cock and slide down. Fuck, but he was beautiful to watch! Angel couldn’t take his eyes from the sight of his boy’s pretty mouth taking him in over and over. When it got to be too much to stand still, he started to thrust into Spike’s mouth. 

“Ah God! Spike!” Angel groaned. 

Spike moaned around him and pulled Angel’s jeans down over his hips. Reaching up with one hand, he massaged his Sire’s balls as he reached around behind Angel with his other hand to pull him closer. 

“Do you want to swallow me, Spike? Want to choke on my cock?” Angel growled softly. 

By way of response, Spike swallowed the tip, causing Angel tighten his hold on his head and breathe heavily. He continued to work his Sire over, listening to the growls of pleasure coming from above. Then, he was pulled off the shaft and his head was tilted back to look up at Angel. 

“What are you trying to do, boy?” Angel asked in Sire voice. 

Spike shivered at the tone. “I’m trying to get us both off, ponce. I’m not going to be left all night with my dick as hard as a rock. You may enjoy torturing yourself, but I, for one, am going to deal with this _before_ you leave.” He squeezed Angel’s cock for emphasis. 

“You never could stop to enjoy the feeling, could you? You always have to have the pleasure right away. You took pleasure of the kill, but not the lure. You took pleasure in the orgasm, but not the sensations while achieving it. I tried to teach you decorum, boy. Did you ever listen to anything I taught you?” 

“I listened . . . when it benefited me,” Spike pouted. He squeezed Angel’s cock tighter, saying, “right now it benefits me to do this.” 

“Spike we have important things to do today. We don’t have time to spend it in bed,” Angel said. 

When Angel’s cock throbbed in his hand, Spike said, “I think your dick has something to say about that.” 

Angel smirked. “What can I say, it can’t resist you.” 

Angel leaned down and kissed Spike, pushing him back on the bed. He let his jeans fall to the floor and stepped out of them. Then, he crawled back onto the bed between Spike’s thighs. Grabbing the other vampire’s legs, Angel pushed them up to his chest and pressed the tip of his cock against his boy’s puckered entrance. Spike arched up as Angel thrust forward, impaling the blonde on his cock. 

“Is this what you wanted?” Angel growled as he pushed deeper. 

“Yes!” Spike choked out. 

Reaching down between them, Spike stroked his own length while Angel pounded into him hard and fast. The sounds of their flesh slapping together accompanied by his Sire’s grunts and his own noises made on impact of every stroke only served to heighten Spike’s arousal even more. 

Angel released his legs and Spike used the opportunity to wrap them around his Sire’s waist, buried his face in Angel’s neck and groaned as he strained against his elder. His Sire had changed the tempo to hard and deep, back to his possessive mood, which was fine with Spike. Anything as long as Angel didn’t stop. 

“Angel, please!” Spike moaned. 

“Please what?” _Did he just beg? He rarely begs. I have him reduced to begging?_

“More,” Spike breathed near his ear. 

“More of what, childe? I’m already nailing you to the bed,” Angel said, each word punctuated with a thrust. 

When Spike’s internal muscles tried to pull him in him deeper, Angel’s eyes rolled back in his head. He doubled his pace until he felt the frame of the bed shake under them. The headboard was a bit sturdier than the one in their room in L.A. It would take a bit more force to get it to bang against the wall. Not that Angel was looking to break records; he was just trying to get the edge off so that they could get done that he needed to today. 

Spike’s head dropped back to the pillow and he watched his Sire’s face as he jerked on his own cock and bucking against Angel slamming into him. When the dark vampire opened his chocolate eyes, he met Spike’s vivid blue gaze. He reached between them and wrapped his hand around his childe’s fingers. He moved them faster to keep up with the orgasm about to burst forth. 

“Spike! Come on! Come with me,” Angel groaned out. 

The blonde growled through his orgasm as he felt his Sire flood his channel.  Angel collapsed over him and nuzzled into his neck. 

“Fuck, Spike that was . . .” Angel trailed off. 

“The best shag you’ll ever have in your life?” Spike finished. 

Angel chuckled, the rumble in his chest vibrating against his lover. 

“Now get off me, we both need a shower,” Spike sounded disgusted. 

“You insisted on this, if I recall. ‘Oh Sire, I need you! I can’t wait anymore! I got to have you!’” Angel mimicked. 

Spike’s brows furrowed. “I never said that!” 

“Close enough,” Angel shrugged. 

“Uh-uh, it was _you_ that said you wanted me to come, needed me to come so that you could remember it when you went back to L.A. I was merely following orders, _Sire_ ,” Spike countered. 

Angel raised his head and glanced at the clock. 5:30 p.m. “ _Now_ it is time to get up. I have a couple of things to do before I leave. I’ll go take care of them and be back.” He carefully extracted himself from Spike and got out of bed. 

“You’re not going to go see the Slayer or her toy soldier, are you?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“No. Just have to get a few things settled and be back,” Angel assured him. 

Spike nodded and watched his gorgeous Sire walk into the adjoining bathroom. He stayed in bed though. No good would come from him following Angel into the shower. If he did that, they would never get out of the house. As much as he hated the prospect of being separated from the dark vampire -- they haven’t been apart in nearly three weeks -- he knew Angel had to get back to his hero gig. Besides, he’d seen a royally upset former cheerleader only twice before. He’d hate to see what Cordelia would do if Angel didn’t go back to his job. 

Cordelia. Now there was something he didn’t bank on when he stayed in L.A. with Angel. Sure, she put up a fuss that first day or so. She wasn’t too keen on the whole claiming business, but then humans never were. They didn’t understand it. So, they made a truce of some sort. He promised to never look at her neck with thoughts of evil designs and she promised not to douse him in holy water and set him on fire while he was asleep. All in all, it’s turned into a tentative friendship, he supposed. 

Wesley was a whole different matter. Being a former watcher, Wes was always on his guard around him. But, then a former watcher working for a vampire put a few kinks in the scheme of things. Though it would be nice to walk into a room and not have the tweed brigade shoving wooden crosses in his face saying ‘Back away, you evil fiend, you’ll not be getting my neck this day!’ Spike shook his head. Wesley has been watching too many horror flicks and with the brainwashing the Watcher’s Council did, hasn’t helped any either. Angel’s turning him around though. He could see a bright future for Wes in the way he was starting to view the world. Now, if he’d just remove that stake from his ass . . . 

Spike sighed again, flung the covers away and got up. Bare-ass naked and unashamed, he walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair. Just because he was an evil vampire, did not mean he was unhygienic. A person had to slave to look as good as he did. After brushing his teeth, he eyed the mousse that helped the curls stay flat. Then, he looked toward the shower with the sound of the spray behind the curtain, he shrugged. Maybe he did use more hair products than the poof. He left the bathroom in search of clothes. 

Twenty minutes later Angel came out of the bathroom, showered, powdered and other stuff Spike cringed at the thought of. The blonde was drinking a glass of blood and reading a paper they picked up in Barstow on the drive up. It was old news now, but it was all he had until he set up his library. Cordelia found it shocking that he read at all. She had come down to the apartment for some inane reason and found him reading a story from his human days. And they say she’s not a good actress. The expression he got alone was at least worthy of a daytime Emmy award. 

“So what’s the plan for today?” Spike asked, still reading. 

“Just a couple of things to set you up with the blood bank and butcher shops in town,” Angel said. 

“You’re really serious about neutering me, aren’t you?” 

“Not neuter, Spike. Just muzzle you. It’ll be a good thing. I mean pig’s blood isn’t the best thing in the world but once you get used to it . . .” 

Spike’s head shot up at that and he raised the scarred brow. “Get used to it? How can you stand that swill? It’s like drinking American beer, watered down and disgusting.” He wrinkled his nose at the thought. 

“Spike,” Angel groaned. “We’ve talked about this. I can’t have you killing anyone on my conscience.” 

“How about if I just took a sip without offing them?” Spike suggested. 

“Buffy would stake you so fast that I wouldn’t have time and words to save you,” Angel said dryly. 

“You’ve really taken the fun out of unliving haven’t you?” Spike scoffed. 

Angel rolled his eyes. Last night and this morning went along so beautifully. Now, they were back to arguing. He had gotten himself a glass of blood during this conversation. Now he set it down and looked at Spike. He should have known, no, wait, he _did_ know that this wasn’t going to be easy. Nothing with Spike was ever that. 

Spike saw the look on Angel’s face and took pity on the poor sod. The same demon who taught him that blood was everything, to never accept anything but the best, was now telling him to drink bottom-of-barrel swine blood. For the past two weeks he had been living on Sire’s blood. Now, with Angel going back to L.A., he wouldn’t have that luxury. 

After thinking on it for a few moments, Spike asked, “Can you at least make me a sweet deal at the blood bank?” 

“I’ll see what I can do, that’s all I can promise,” Angel replied. 

Spike went back to the newspaper, grumbling about having to drink animal blood. Angel shook his head and drained his glass. He rinsed it out and put it in the sink. As he was about to leave, he stopped next to Spike and put his hand on the blonde’s shoulder. Spike acknowledged him with a squeeze of his fingers and Angel left to make the necessary arrangements. 

**************************

Angel walked in the door a few hours later, slammed it shut behind him and leaned back against it with his eyes closed. Spike was walking through the foyer when he came in. Seeing his Sire, he stopped and took in the haphazard look. 

“Been stalking the Slayer, have you?” Spike asked dryly. 

Angel opened his eyes and looked at Spike. _How did Spike know?_ He had gone to the blood bank and made a nice deal and then went to the butchers to set up his childe’s account there. The humans in Sunnydale, as with everything else, didn’t realize that not only did demons exist, but they also kept up decorum when at all possible. While he was at the butcher’s, Buffy was outside during one of her patrols. It brought back the painful memory of her prom night when they were in the same positions. 

When he saw her, he quickly thanked the man he was talking to, and made an even quicker exit, moments before she noticed that he was around. He could feel her, just like always. That was another thing that never changed. He could always feel her. It was why he couldn’t stay in Sunnydale. He couldn’t be here, live here, be around her and not be with her. Sunnydale was a small town, he could feel her everywhere. 

“Angel?” Spike inquired when he got no response. 

“Yes. I saw her,” was the tight reply. 

“And . . .?” Spike prodded. 

“I got you set up,” Angel said dodging the question. He was still plastered to the front door. 

“Angel. You want to step away from the door, pet? You hug it any tighter that way, you’ll break it,” Spike advised. 

The dark vampire looked mildly sheepish and stepped away from the door, only stopping when he reached Spike. Raising his hand, Angel rubbed his fingers over a sharp cheekbone. He was going to miss his boy. Hell, he already missed him and he hadn’t even left yet. He had to leave now though. Not only because of Buffy, but also because he had to get back to Angel Investigations before Cordelia organized a search party. 

“Saw the bint and now it’s time to leave, huh?” Spike asked looking at Angel. 

Angel shook his head. “No. It’s time to leave because Cordelia will likely show up with chains and a tow truck and haul me back.” “Saw the bint and now it’s time to leave, huh?” Spike asked looking at Angel. 

Angel shook his head. “No. It’s time to leave because Cordelia will likely show up with chains and a tow truck and haul me back.” 

Spike chuckled. “That’s one long leash you got there, pet.” 

Angel nodded in agreement. Here he was a 240-odd-year-old vampire with a childe who was 126 and they were talking about a high school ice queen’s temper and what she would do to them if they ever crossed her. Two-fourths of the Scourge of Europe were avoiding the wrath of a mortal girl who was old enough be their granddaughter several times removed. Oh how times had changed. 

Angel went to the bedroom with Spike following. The blonde stopped in the doorway and leaned against it, watching his Sire collect his things. The connections still felt weird. On one hand he felt calmer than he had been in a long while. On the other hand the snarky side of him didn’t want to care one way or the other about Angel. This was the Sire who made his fledgling years hell. This was the Sire who forced his hand into a beam of sunlight, daring him to step up and be a man – demon. The same sire who abandoned him to take care of Drusilla by himself. 

When Angel was finished packing, he slung the duffle bag over his shoulder and walked out with Spike to the garage. Spike opened the garage door again and then walked over to Angel. The elder vampire had the driver door open and had just thrown his bag into the passenger seat. He leaned back against the side of the car and looked at Spike. 

“Are you sure you’ll be okay living here? I don’t just mean the mansion. From what Buffy said, Sunnydale’s a bad place to be if you’re a demon, especially with Riley gunning for you. The connections are still new and here I am leaving you again,” Angel said. 

“Don’t worry, Angel. I can handle myself pretty well. I’ll stay here, keep an eye on your girl for you, and give you updates on how well she’s being all the Slayer she can be,” Spike said. 

“I just worry,” Angel commented. 

“I know, turned it into an award-winning art form, you have,” Spike smirked. 

“You’ll stay out of trouble? You won’t do anything to make Buffy stake you?” Angel asked pensively. 

“Okay, now you are ruining my fun. What’s the point in babysitting your girl if I can’t drive her around the bend?” 

“Spike . . .” Angel said in warning. 

“Fine! I’ll be a good little vampire and not bite any of the natives. Can I at least terrorize the pricks of the lot?” Spike asked hopefully. 

Angel sighed in exasperation. He had a feeling he’ll be pulling on Spike’s proverbial leash a lot in the coming days, weeks, even years. He knew part of what his boy said was in jest. But, another part knew the demon secreted deep within. He knew that Spike was restless. That’s why he had sweetened the deal at the blood bank. His boy wouldn’t live on animal blood all the time like he did. It was natural thing for a vampire to crave human blood. It was wine compared to pig’s blood. But still, it worried him what kind of town he was leaving Spike in. 

Sunnydale wasn’t the same town that he had lived in for three years. There were things more evil than Spike running around now. He wasn’t just thinking about the demon population either. Humans. College kids pretending to be commandos were now in full force picking off any demon great and small now. Angel had the sudden urge to just let Buffy survive on her own without Spike to back her up and take his boy back to L.A. He crossed his arms over his chest as if that would ease the tightness he felt and inhaled an unneeded breath. God, he was so torn about this. 

“Angel? If you want to make it to L.A. and maybe even start to get a bit of work done, you need to leave now,” Spike reminded him. 

Angel refocused on Spike. “You’ll take care of yourself?” 

“Yes, Sire,” Spike replied. 

“And you’ll . . .” Angel started to say. 

“. . . Look after the blonde bint,” Spike finished and then answered, “Yes, Sire.” 

Angel climbed into the car, shut the door and turned the engine on. He looked up at Spike and advised, “Unless you’re absolutely sure about them, trust no one.” 

“That’s always been my motto,” Spike said in agreement. 

Angel nodded. He put the car in reverse, backed out and then drove away, leaving Spike to stand there in the empty garage for a moment. The blonde shut the garage door again and went back into the house. 

**************************

Neither of them had noticed the figure on the opposite side of the road watching the mansion with night vision binoculars. He watched the place for a few moments. It was still and quiet and foreboding as it loomed over the street in the dark. He had seen the two demons in the garage talking. He saw one of them get in the car, drive off and the other shut the door. Something was going on with those two and it bothered him that he didn’t know what it was or why Buffy had insisted on _not_ staking them. He ground his teeth in frustration and walked away.


	20. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

##  _Chapter 16: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 16)_

**_Crawford Street Mansion_**

The minute Spike got into the house, he grabbed the cell phone Angel had given him a while back and dialed Buffy’s dorm room. He hoped the witch was in. He needed a favor. The phone rang . . . and rang . . . and rang. Finally, someone picked up. 

“Hello?” said a breathy voice over the line. 

“Slayer, bloody hell!” Spike growled. 

“Spike, why are you calling me?” Buffy asked sounding confused. 

“I wasn’t calling you. Where’s the witch?” Spike asked. 

“She’s not here,” Buffy said. 

“Well then, where is she?” Spike was aggravated. 

“Like I’d tell you! Some of us who are of the living have lives to live and . . . well live!” Buffy said angrily. 

“Slayer, so help me, I’ll come over there and get it out of you even if I have to go over there with a crane and rip out that cute little tongue of yours!” Spike threatened. He waited for Angel to intervene but nothing happened. Huh? His Sire must be busy. 

“I thought harming me wasn’t in your job description, Spikey?” Buffy taunted. 

“Angel told me I couldn’t bite you, he didn’t say I couldn’t take his errant ex-girlfriend over my knee,” Spike sneered. 

“Oh, I’d like to see you try, bleached wonder!” Buffy replied. 

“Slayer! Goddamn it, where’s Red?” Spike asked through clenched teeth. His eyes were flecked in gold, not that she could see them. 

“I told you she’s not here. She’s been hanging around another girl. Tara I think her name is,” Buffy said off-handedly. 

“Thank you,” Spike crooned and cut the connection. 

Well, there goes another trip to break into the college administration office to find a girl named Tara. _Oh, the joys Angel missed by leaving so soon._ Spike pocketed the cell and shrugged on his duster. As he left the house through the atrium, he walked through the door where glass used to be, and made a mental note to replace the doors. They hadn’t been fixed since Buffy and that other psychotic Slayer Faith dived through them. _Bloody ungrateful humans._

Spike walked through Sunnydale toward the college. For a night on the Hellmouth, it seemed quiet, no demons on the street creating havoc. Over the last few years, you couldn’t throw a stick two paces without hitting a demon. Spike found it odd that things were so quiet. 

Once he arrived at the college, he broke into the administrator’s office and booted up the computer. The breaking and entering of this particular building was starting to become a recurring theme. He had done this to find Buffy’s dorm a while back and now he was doing again to locate the redheaded witch. 

Spike pilfered the office while waiting for the computer to boot up. Once it was running, he scanned the lists of dorm assignments: Mara Lemsky, Rhea Jordan, Sara Jameson, aha, Tara MacLay. He noted the dorm number, shut the computer down and disappeared the way he came in. 

**************************

**_USC Sunnydale, Tara’s Dorm_**

Willow was sitting on the bed playing with a small black and white kitten in her lap. Tara was sitting beside her on a large chest at the foot of the bed looking through a college-course selection booklet. 

“Oh,” Willow cooed when the cat did something cute. “I keep thinking ‘okay, that’s the cutest thing ever,’ and then she does something cuter and completely resets the whole scale.” 

“Did you see her yawn earlier?” Tara asked, smiling. 

“Yes! I thought I was going to die,” Willow gushed. She picked up the kitten and looked into its eyes. “Oh, I love you, Miss Kitty Fantastico!” she cooed in a babying-voice. 

“We have to get her a real name,” Tara said. 

Willow smiled in acknowledgement. “It’s so cool that she’s ours.” She paused and caught herself. “Uh, yours. That’s she’s yours is . . . is cool.” 

“She can be ours if you want?” Tara suggested. 

Willow smiled at that. Just then, there was a knock on the door. As Tara got up to answer it, she said, “You still need an elective.” She opened the door and was brought up short by the tall blonde vampire standing in the doorway. 

“Bloody hell, I hope you’re Tara MacLay. I’ve been all over this soddin' dormitory looking for you. Have you seen Red? I need to borrow something from her,” Spike said without even a greeting. 

“Uh, uh, who are you?” Tara asked her brow furrowed in confusion. 

“’M Spike! Where’s Red?” he asked again. 

Willow hurriedly put the kitten down, got up and peeked around the door. She had an equally confused expression on her face. “Spike? Why are you here?” 

“Hey Red, I need to borrow your laptop,” Spike said. 

“M-my laptop? What for? Do you even know how to work a computer?” Willow asked. 

“Yeah, I know how to work a bloody computer. I’m not stuck in the dark ages like Peaches! I need it to do some shopping. I’m living in that vast, barren mausoleum my Sire calls a mansion and it needs something more . . . me if I’m going to live there,” Spike said annoyed. 

Willow looked skeptically at Spike. Evil, soulless Spike was asking her for the use of her computer for online shopping. Did someone put a happy pill in his blood today or something? What did Angel do to him to get him to not only play nice but ask for things as well? 

“You want to use my laptop to shop online? I don’t know Spike, how are you going to pay for it? Last I knew you couldn’t even rub two pennies together,” she said. 

“Don’t worry about that. I got it all figured out,” Spike replied determinedly. 

“Come on in, then,” Willow said. 

“Why not just give it to me? I’ll have it back to you by tomorrow night,” he said solemnly. 

Willow scoffed at that. “Like I would believe the word of an evil, ruthless vampire, even if you _are_ on a tight leash.” 

“Hey what’s with the leash reference? I’m not a dog! I’m the Big Bad!” Spike said angrily. 

Willow rolled her eyes and walked over to turn her laptop on. Spike was still stuck in the doorway, stopped from entering by the mystical barrier. He leaned on the invisible wall and whistled an old show tune. 

“Uh, Willow,” Tara said to get her girlfriend’s attention. 

Willow turned around to look at Tara and then looked at the doorway when she realized Spike hadn’t followed her. He was leaning his shoulder against the doorway inspecting the black nail polish on his nails. Willow’s brow furrowed for a moment before she realized the problem. 

“Oh! I don’t live here. Only the person living here can invite him in.” Willow gestured toward Spike saying, “Go on and invite him in.” 

“You just said he was an evil, ruthless vampire!” Tara squeaked. “Are you sure it’s safe?” 

Willow waved her off. “Oh that, don’t worry, Angel has him under wraps. It’s a whole mystical, telepathic leash thing. Vampire stuff. He’s fine.” 

Tara looked at Willow as if she’d lost her mind. The redhead just said he was a vampire and that he was on some sort of cosmic connection with someone else that made him safe. She was really confused. Sunnydale is on a Hellmouth. Demons live here. She vaguely knew of Angel, that he had a soul, was fighting the good fight in L.A. and that he dated Buffy for a time. Now, somehow he was tied to the blonde vampire standing in her doorway? Tara shook her head. _The things that happen when you live on a Hellmouth._ She walked up to her door and gripped the handle for support. 

“Do y-y-you p-p-promise not to bite anyone?” she stuttered nervously. 

“I’m not going to bite you, Glenda. Even if I wanted to, Angel wouldn’t let me, the selfish sod. He thinks he put caps on my fangs with that --” Spike stopped when he realized who he was with when he started ranting. 

Tara nodded nervously. “You can c-c-come in.” 

She stepped out of the way as Spike stepped over the threshold tentatively. He gave the blonde girl one of his patented killer smiles as he walked past her, reveling in the sound of her heart beating faster. He glimpsed a blush creep into her cheeks and continued on to the desk where Willow stood booting up her computer. 

“Here,” Willow said, pulling out a chair. “Never heard of a century-old vampire being technologically efficient or computer-savvy and I don’t know how you can pay for what you’re doing, but have at it. Just don’t break anything, don’t mess anything up . . ., and don’t surf for porn. It’s for school not entertainment.” 

As he sat down in front of the laptop, Spike gave her a look of distaste when she mentioned what she thought he was going to do with it. “I’m a vampire, Red, not a seventeen-year-old schoolboy. Don’t need to surf for porn. I’ve had enough of it in my day to last me another century of dreams and nightmares.” 

“Yeah, uh, sorry,” Willow quickly looked away and left him to do his online shopping. 

Three hours later, after much mouse clicking and hearing Spike mutter to himself about Angel’s style, or lack thereof, Willow and Tara hovered behind him to see what he was buying. They had even left him for an hour to go to class and were fearful of finding Tara’s room ransacked by the temperamental vampire; but when they returned he was still clicking away. They had decided to see what he was up to just about the time he was inputting a credit card number. 

Willow scanned the checkout page and her eyes became saucers when she saw how much he had spent. “I didn’t know you had that much money, or a credit card for that matter.” 

“I don’t, but the old man is loaded. He’s got money hidden away, I’m just using it,” Spike said. 

“Spike! That’s fraud! You can’t just use his credit card to pay for all that!” Tara chastised. 

“Why not? I figure after this many years of dealing with the ponce, I feel the need for compensation,” Spike said petulantly. 

“Well, it’s your dust when Angel gets the bill for all that,” Willow said in mock sadness. 

Spike surprised both girls when he shut the computer down and closed the laptop correctly. He even cleaned up around himself before standing up. When he noticed their look of astonishment, he snorted. 

“I may be evil and all, but I’m still careful when I need to be. Jeez!” Spike said. “Thanks for the use of the computer, Red. Appreciate it. I’ll be on my way.” 

Spike nodded at the two girls who were still staring at him with opened mouths and walked out the door, closing it behind him. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel’s Office, Three Days Later_**

Cordelia walked into the main office as she sorted through the mail. Angel was still downstairs in bed. What other kind of work was there that allowed you more personal time to shop for shoes and clothes than working for a vampire that didn’t see the sun before . . . well ever, but work-wise before 10 A.M.? Which only brings to mind the question of _why_ he insisted that if she worked for him, that she had better show up at 8 A.M.? 

“Bills, bills, and hey, more bills!” Cordelia dropped the mail on the edge of her desk and flopped down in the chair. “I thought life was supposed to get easier after high school. I’m an actress! I should be out there auditioning for at least a bit part on Melrose Place or some feature film with Johnny Depp in it. Now look at me! I’m working for a vampire in a badly decorated office with no light. I don’t see how this could possibly help my complexion.” 

“Who are you talking to?” Angel asked from his position leaning against the doorway to his office. 

Cordelia jumped in her chair at hearing his voice. _Stupid, stealthy vampires._ She pasted a smile on her face and looked up. “No one, boss!” She reached over, grabbed the mail and held it out for him. “Here’s the mail. I figured you would want to give it a once over to see what bills we can’t pay this month.” 

Angel rolled his eyes. “You know how I feel about charging people to save them. It feels wrong,” he said as he sifted through the mail. He stood still when he saw a thick envelope from MasterCard. _I never used my MasterCard this month._

“Well, get over it, mister! We can’t keep this place up with the poverty game we’ve got going. I know you don’t need to eat, but rent, food and Pradas cost money and it’s not exactly growing on the trees out there, you know?” Cordelia ranted as she pointed toward the window. 

When she didn’t get an answer, Cordelia looked up to see Angel looking through a thick sheaf of print-outs. She got up and went over to look around his shoulder. Her eyes became as huge as saucers when she saw the monetary figures that filled the sheet. Then, she became angry and turned on him. 

“Hey! You’ve been holding out on me!” She said, hitting him in the arm. 

Angel ignored Cordelia, still silently stewing over how much debt he owed on his credit card. He turned around and went back into his office. Leaning against his desk, he picked up the phone and dialed Spike’s number as Cordelia watched him from the doorway. 

“’Ello, William the Bloody at your service!” Spike chimed over the receiver. 

“Yeah, you’ll be William-lying-on-the-Bloody-Ground-in-a-Pile-of-Ashes when I’m through with you, you thieving, peroxide-bleached brain!” 

“Hey, peaches! What’s got your knickers in a twist?” Spike asked cheerily. 

I’ll tell you what! I just got my credit card bill, you wayward little punk. What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Why is my MasterCard debt up to $42,764.62, _childe_?” 

Cordelia was silent up until Angel read off that number. “WHAT?!” she shrieked before storming into the room and snatching the bill from Angel’s hand. 

“Oh, I see you got the bill,” Spike said nonchalantly. 

“ _Yeah_ , I got the bill, you little miscreant,” Angel said looking over Cordelia’s shoulder at the bill. “What on earth possessed you to buy imported rugs for $1,577.00, an Indonesian rupiah demon mist?” 

“But, _Sire_ , I can only get those rugs imported from Southeast Asia,” Spike said petulantly. 

“Why couldn’t you get the rugs from some place closer to home?” Angel growled. 

“They don’t have them in the States?” Spike said impishly. 

“Why didn’t you just buy knock-offs that were much cheaper?” Angel continued to growl. 

“What do you mean knock-offs? Why would I want knock-offs in my home?” Spike asked indignantly. 

“Oh, maybe because it’s _my money and my house_!” Angel started yelling. 

“Oh!” Spike growled. “I can call it _my home_ if I want to! I _live here_ , you bleedin’ ponce! You’ll get _your_ say in what furnishes this house _when you move in!_ ” 

“Spike, when I get my hands on you, you’ll pay dearly for every penny you spent! You better have bought something that was worth the punishment you’re going to get the next time I see you!” 

“Is that a promise?” Spike asked, hopeful. 

Angel growled and hung up. While he glowered and brooded over his credit card bill, Cordelia was livid. 

“Why didn’t you ever use that money to get a better residence or give me a raise?” Cordelia asked angrily. 

Still scowling over his bill, Angel said, “Because it was money and assets I stole from my victims when I was Angelus and I felt guilty about using it, that’s why!” 

“Well, get over it! We’re broke if you haven’t noticed. How are we supposed to pay for my necessities and the upkeep on this building if you don’t part with some of your wealth? Okay, so it was ill-gotten gains, but you could put it to good use now!” Cordelia said. 

Angel scanned his bill, a look of utter disbelief on his face at havoc Spike wrought on his credit card. “$1,200.00 Hibachi Table, $1,150.00 display cabinet, $1,600.00 for a wicker TV console, $6,500.00 for a Miyamoto Entertainment Center, $7,146.10 for a Maxx Rainforest corner Jacuzzi shower, $4,620.00 for an Aquatic Century Series oval whirlpool tub?” 

Cordelia perked up at the figures and cheerily said, “You know, if Spike wasn’t living in Sunnydale, I’d be so totally moving in with him for the whirlpool tub!” 

Angel looked up at her from inwardly crying over his credit card bill. “But, you just told me not two months ago that he was a soulless serial killer --” 

“With a whirlpool tub,” Cordelia cut in. 

“He drives a jalopy . . .” Angel said petulantly. 

“I can look past that. Not everyone can have a great car,” Cordelia commented. 

“He has fangs and no soul,” Angel reminded her. 

“So do you!” Cordelia shot back. 

“CORDELIA!” Angel said, exasperated. 

“You know what I mean!” Cordelia said with a dismissive wave. 

“Fine, what about the ’80s-rejected hair you said he had?” Angel asked. 

“Oh, Angel . . . you know there are _so_ many hair care products out there that will help that disaster,” Cordelia smiled. 

“He’ll want sex,” Angel stated. “You don’t fuck the undead.” 

Cordelia’s face fell. With a cringe, “That could be a problem . . .” 

Angel went back to frowning at his credit card bill. Oh, was Spike going to get it the next time he saw his errant childe. Apparently, he had gone too easy on him in the last few months. Maybe a good whipping would rein in his childe’s behavior. Again, Angel glanced at the total: _$42,764.62_. He cringed. How could he spend so much in so little time? 

The phone rang. When it looked like Angel was still brooding over his childe’s fun-loving excursion, Cordelia answered the phone. “Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless.” 

“H-hello? My name is David Nabbitt. I have a bit of a situation that I think you could help me with.” 

**************************

Cordelia, Wesley and Angel walked into a big Hollywood party in progress. There were all types of Hollywood stars and executives milling around the spacious room. Cordelia went gaga literally over the whole thing. It was like Angel and Wesley didn’t recognize her anymore. Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw David Nabbitt’s pad. 

“Oh, I miss that smell!” Cordelia cooed. 

Wesley sniffed the air. “Camembert, I believe.” 

Jarred out of her little world, Cordelia turned to Wesley. “What? No. Money! I like the smell of a little money once in a while.” 

Angel knew it was dig at him for how he reacted earlier to the damage Spike did to his credit card. Nevertheless, he brushed it off for now. He edged toward Wesley and whispered, “She’s not just saying that. Hide some in the office sometime and watch her, it’s uncanny.” 

Cordelia wasn’t paying attention to them; instead she was eying all the celebrities in the room. She had never seen so many famous people in one place before. Here she thought Angel had ruined her one chance at fame by terrorizing Rebecca Lowell, and now, she was in a room filled with so many illustrious people. She was also scanning the crowd for their client. 

“Oh, there he is,” she commented to her colleagues when she spotted David Nabbitt in a plaid shirt, sitting by himself. “Mr. Nabbitt, hi!” 

David stood when he looked up and saw a dark-haired girl come closer with two guys following her. “Hi.” 

Cordelia thrust her hand out and shook his. “Hi.” 

“Glad you could come,” David said graciously. 

“Thanks.” 

“Thanks for having us,” Angel spoke up from behind Cordelia. 

“It’s a pleasure. When he couldn’t remember who the trio was, he asked, “Who are you?” 

“Oh! I’m Cordelia Chase? We spoke on the phone?” she reminded him. 

David Nabbitt held out his hand to shake again. “Oh! Right!” He said shaking Cordelia’s hand. “So – so you – you must be – Angel.” 

Angel shook his hand and said, “Yes. Pleased to meet you. And this is Wesley, my associate.” 

“Lovely party,” Wesley commented. 

“Isn’t it nice?” David said as he surveyed the festivities. 

Cordelia took stock of the room and then her eyes became huge. “Oh. My. God, is that Welling Harding?” 

David shrugged. “I – I – I have no idea. I don’t know most of – these people. I – I don’t even talk to them. They come to the party. I – I think they have fun.” He picked up an appetizer platter and offered it. 

Angel’s brooding expression turned to a pained look. “If this is a bad time we . . .” 

“Oh, um, Miss Chase said that you could only meet at night,” David said. 

“Yeah, it’s more convenient . . .” Angel commented as he looked around uncomfortably. He hated crowds like this. He could hear the blood pumping in everyone around him and did his best to ignore it. 

“And – and that we’d be less conspicuous during the party.” 

Angel glared at Cordelia. She gave him one of her toothpaste commercial smiles and a shrug before turning away. He should have known this was her doing. Cordelia Chase wasn’t one to resist a chance at a brush with high-society living. He really thought for a moment that when her parents lost everything and she had to make it on her own that she was humbled in some way. 

David Nabbitt noticed the silent exchange and rushed on to say, “I mean, I think it’s good! We probably won’t be interrupted. Well, I-I’ve always said that I would make a billion dollars in the software market and . . . uh . . . learn to talk to girls. I’m still working on step two.” 

Angel cleared his throat audibly. “So, why don’t you tell us about your case?” 

“Oh.” David motioned for them to sit. Cordelia took a seat right next to David while Angel sat on the arm of the couch and Wesley chose to stand. 

“Ah, my case. It . . . uh . . . somewhat has to do with black . . . mail,” David choked out. 

Angel raised his brows. “Go on.” 

“Are you familiar with Dungeons and Dragons?” David asked. 

“Yeah, I’ve seen a few,” Angel replied. 

“You mean the . . . ah . . . role playing game,” Wesley clarified. 

Angel glanced up at Wesley and then turned back to his client. “Oh, the game. Right.” 

“Well, I used to play a lot in high school. You know, it was pretty cool. You get to be someone else for a while: a wizard, a warrior, you know, the whole world is magic, fighting Troglodytes and romancing exotic demon princesses. It’s a rush,” David explained. 

Cordelia’s brows furrowed. “Did someone find out you’re a big nerd?” 

David chuckled. “No that’s . . . ah . . . that’s actually public record. But, some of us got _really_ into it, especially the demon romance part. Then, we heard about this place, where, the real . . . The guys were joking about getting some tail.” 

“You went to Madame Dorion’s,” Wesley said matter-of-factly. 

David cringed. “Just once.” 

Angel looked up at Wesley for clarification. 

“It’s a demon brothel,” Wesley supplied. 

“Or twice,” David amended. 

“It’s in Bel Air I believe,” Wesley said thoughtfully. “The Watcher’s Council is _ripe_ with stories about it.” 

Angel nodded that he understood and looked at David. “How many . . .” 

“Twelve . . . times,” David said cutting in. 

“. . . people knew you were going?” Angel finished. 

“Oh . . . ah, just my friends, but,” David reached into his pocket for a picture and handed it to Angel. “My security guys already identified the guy with the pictures. That’s Lenny Edwards, but I just can’t find him.” 

Angel looked at the image: a bald man smoking a cigarette. He put the picture in his jacket and stood up. “Well, we’ll see if we can do better.” 

“If – if my stockholders see these pictures . . .” David started to say. 

“They won’t,” Angel stated. 

Cordelia was still eying the potential prospects in the room for her ticket to stardom and fame. She turned to David and said cheerily, “Don’t worry. We are incredibly discreet. We’ll . . . ah mingle here for a few _hours_ , so no one suspects.” 

“Hey, David,” a female passerby greeted the young entrepreneur. 

David perked up. “Oh! Hey. Nice seeing you again. Yeah.” He shrugged to the AI team. “I have no idea. When I moved to L.A., I thought it was all glamour and valet parking. But, there is a _whole_ world here that no one ever sees.” 

“More than one,” Angel commented tiredly before he disappeared into the crowd. 

**************************

**_Sunnydale, Initiative Caves_**

Buffy couldn’t believe her friends and Watcher would turn against her. The argument at Giles’ seemed surreal at best. Now she was investigating Adam’s caves on her own. It was better this way. If Xander and Willow were here with her, they would just be in the way and she would end up saving them from something they’d gotten themselves into. As she rounded a corner, she almost ran right smack into . . . Spike? 

Spike raised his hands. “Easy, sheriff, watch where you point that thing.” 

“What are you doing here?” Buffy asked annoyed. 

“I could ask you the same thing. Need I remind you that I’m a vampire and as such, I prowl around at all hours of the . . . day?” Spike snapped back. He turned and walked past Buffy. 

“Adam’s been using these caves,” Buffy announced. 

Spike stopped and turned around. “What? Adam who?” 

“He’s a cyborg created from parts of humans and demons. Professor Walsh created him. Now he’s trying to pull off a New World Order type of thing. I found his lair,” Buffy said. 

“Huh. And you’re here investigating on your own because, why, you’re immune to his killing ways?” Spike asked. 

“Well, he’s cleared out of here. Whatever he’s planning is about to go down soon,” Buffy replied. Why did Spike and Angel always think she was helpless? She was the Slayer for God’s sake. 

Spike looked at her with an amused expression. “Well, well, look at little Nancy Drew. Where’s your chums?” 

“We had a disagreement. They’re back at Giles’ place,” Buffy said sadly. 

“So, you’re out here looking for a demonic cyborg that could kill you with one blow all by your lonesome?” Spike asked, and then yelped, “Are you insane?!” 

“I so don’t need this from you right now, Spike. I need to find Adam,” Buffy was annoyed again. She ground her teeth. How dare he assume that she was incapable of doing her job? She’s been protecting the Hellmouth for four years now. She _did_ _not_ need to be told she was inept at her calling. 

“Fine! Do what you want. When Angel asks I’ll just tell him you considered yourself to be Wonder Slayer and thought you could take on evil with a single throw of your trusty stake,” Spike sneered. He turned to leave. “No worry of mine now, is it?” he threw over his shoulder as he walked out. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles_**

Lenny Edwards was about to get into his car when Angel stepped up behind him. Lenny startled a little and turned around to face the broad-shouldered man behind him. 

“What do you want?” Lenny asked smugly. He was used to being the heavy in this part of the neighborhood, but the guy in front him didn’t look the least bit fazed. 

“Big question: what do I want?” Angel mused and appeared to think about it. “Love, family, a place on this planet I can call my own, but you know what?” 

“What?” Lenny asked shaking a little. 

“I’m never going to have any of those things,” Angel said with a smirk and then his face fell into a hard-edged expression. “And, unless these next few minutes go exactly the way I want them to, neither are you. Where are the pictures of David Nabbitt?” 

Lenny turned smug. “Never heard of him.” 

Angel gave a dry laugh at that. “Oh-ho, you only get one lie. I probably should have mentioned that first.” 

Lenny reached over and patted Angel on the shoulder. He was the cock of this neighborhood. He didn’t know who this guy thought he was, but he wasn’t going to be intimidated by some muscled GQ model. 

“Look, pal, you’re obviously not from around here. But, trust me, you do _not_ want to see my bad side,” Lenny warned. 

Charles Gunn and his gang walked closer to the gate on the other side of the alley and watched the last part of the conversation. 

Nonchalantly, Angel stepped closer to the little worm. “You show me yours.” His face shifted to his demon. “I’ll show you mine.” He grabbed Lenny by the collar and pushed him up against the car. “Okay,” he growled. “So now I’m from around here. In fact, I’m moving in and taking over. Do you understand me? I will dog you every night for the rest of your very short life until you bring me what I want. Are we clear?” When Lenny nodded frantically, Angel mimicked him. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.” 

Angel shoved Lenny away from him. He couldn’t turn around unlock his door fast enough. When he looked back, Angel was gone. Mustering his bravado again, he put on the tough-guy act like nothing happened, got into the car and drove off. 

Across the alley at the gate, Charles and his gang were still watching the scene. They had seen Angel vamp out and Lenny stumble to open his car door and speed out of the alley with screeching tires. 

“Vampire’s moving in, huh?” Chain mused. 

Gunn nodded. “Yeah, well, he is not going to stay too long.” 

**************************

**_Sunnydale, UC Sunnydale Campus_**

Buffy walked up and met her (former) friends at the center crosswalk. It was just the four of them as Anya and Tara elected not to show up. 

Buffy turned to Xander. “Where’s Anya?” 

“Oddly, Anya decided not to join us, despite all the _fun_ we had at our last meeting,” Xander replied. 

“And, I don’t think Tara felt welcome,” Willow added. 

“Why?” Buffy turned to Willow, “Because of the things that we said?” 

Willow nodded. 

Buffy nodded in understanding. “I just went to Adam’s lair and he was gone. But, Spike just happened to be there. He gave me the fourth degree on hunting Adam by myself and then took off. How about you guys?” 

“Oh, I decrypted the disks,” Willow announced. When Buffy gave her a surprised look, she grumbled, “Well, they decrypted themselves, but I almost had it.” 

“What did they say?” Giles inquired. 

Willow shrugged. “A bunch of stuff we already knew about 314. But, it also said that there’s some final phase where Adam manufactures a bunch of creepy cyber-demonoids like him. There’s a special lab in the Initiative, but it didn’t say where.” 

“Adam let us find those disks. He wanted me to know about his evil-guy assembly line.” She turned to Willow and asked, “This lab, it’s in the Initiative?” 

Willow nodded, “Hidden somewhere.” 

Buffy looked thoughtful. “We’ll give the demon his due. He thought this one out.” 

“What do you mean?” Willow was curious. 

“You know how overcrowded the containment cells have been at the Initiative?” When Willow nodded, Buffy continued. “Those demons were just too easy to catch. It was like they wanted in that place.” 

“The Trojan horse,” Giles commented as he put his glasses on. 

“Adam’s going to make sure the demons attack the Initiative from the inside,” Buffy said. 

“Demons versus soldiers, massacre, massacre.” Xander assessed. 

“And Adam has a neat pile of body parts to start assembling his army,” Willow concluded. “Diabolical, yet . . .” She scrunched her nose up in disgust. “Gross.” 

Xander raised his hand and asked, “Does anyone else miss the Mayor's ‘I just want to be a big snake’? 

“I’ve got to shut him down, Giles,” Buffy said anxiously. “His final phase is about to start.” 

“Well, we need to warn the Initiative,” Giles said. 

“They’re not going to listen to me,” Buffy said derisively. 

“How about Riley?” Willow inquired. 

“He’s a deserter. He got some bad news anyway and kind of took off,” Buffy said sadly, remembering how she had to tell him about Forrest’s death. 

Xander raised his hand. “Okay, I’m confused again. Adam has this evil plan. Why is he so anxious for you to know about it?” 

“He wants me there. Probably figures I’ll even the kill ratio,” Buffy replied. 

“He’s not worried you might kill,” Xander shrugged, “oh, say him?” 

“No, he’s really not.” 

**************************

**_Los Angeles_**

Lenny sat on the hood of his car holding a brown manila envelope in his hands. While he was looking around elsewhere, Angel silently appeared beside him. 

“You’re a sneaky son of a bitch, aren’t you?” Lenny sneered. 

Angel ignored the question and asked. “You brought the photographs?” 

Lenny held up the envelope as evidence. "Of course I brought them . . . and a little something extra." 

A gray-skinned demon appeared next to Angel and hit him hard enough to send him flying a few feet backward through the air. 

“Love that,” Lenny commented as he grinned at the scene. 

Angel’s survival instincts kicked in and he turned to fight the demon. He vaguely heard Lenny ask, “Whatever he’s paying you isn’t enough, is it?” That was when Angel crashed into Lenny and caused him to drop the envelope. Angel picked it up and pocketed it quickly. Then, he swung around a lamppost to fight the demon. He managed to break the demon’s neck. 

While Angel caught himself on the way down with the dead body, he coughed and tried to recover. He didn’t see Lenny turn tail and run. Though, he felt the burn of a stake as it impaled his left shoulder. He grabbed hold of it and looked back to see Gunn’s gang with their pick up truck and a modified stake-gun. He stood up, pulled out the stake and ran with the truck in close pursuit. 

“Get him!” Gunn ordered. 

Angel kept up a zigzag trail, tossing trashcans and other rubbish in front of the truck to waylay it and effectively causing the gunner to realign his target as he ran down the street. Seeing an escape, he rolled underneath a partial open warehouse door and stood up to lean against it, panting. He groaned when he felt Spike brush against his mind. 

_Are you okay?_ Spike sounded concerned. 

_For the moment. I can’t talk right now._ Angel replied. 

_If you’re sure—_ Spike started to say. 

Just then, the wooden rams that were mounted on the hood of Gunn’s truck burst through the door and narrowly missed him. Angel knew Spike was tied to him through the bonds and as such could feel what he felt, which included being staked in the shoulder. He had to survive to protect Spike. Who the hell were these kids and what did they think they were doing? 

_Spike, can we have this inner discussion later? I’m kind of busy right now!_ Angel said frantically. He shut the link down and ran deeper into the warehouse. He tripped over something in the dark and stumbled against a stack of boxes. Trying to gain his footing, he stepped on a plate and triggered a pallet to drop from the ceiling with stakes mounted to the bottom. He rolled to avoid being impaled. 

Angel rounded a corner and a guy with a stake in hand jumped him from behind. Angel grabbed his hands and after a short struggle, he tossed the guy over his head and onto the floor in front of him. The attacker saw the stake coming toward his own heart and froze in fear. Angel took a second to assess that the kid was human, dropped the stake and ran on. The guy stared after him in surprise. 

Angel ran through a trip wire and triggered a set of crossbows as he ran down a hallway. He managed to dodge the quarrels. The gang closed in on him from all sides and after he tossed a few around, Angel grabbed hold of Alonna, using her as a shield. 

“Alonna!” Gunn screeched when he saw his baby sister was in the line of fire. “Don’t shoot!” he ordered. 

Angel watched the group with angry eyes and panted a bit from exertion. “What are you people playing at?” 

“We’re not playing!” Gunn told him. 

“You’re going to get yourselves killed,” Angel warned. 

“We’re going to get _you_ killed first!” Gunn shot back petulantly. 

“Let’s dust him,” Chain said as he cocked his weapon. 

Angel looked at them for a moment, and then tossed Alonna aside.  Gunn tracked the movement with his crossbow and set a quarrel in motion. At the last second, Angel reached out and intercepted the arrow, which headed for Alonna with the palm of his hand. Everyone stared at him in shock. 

"Ow!” Angel yelled as he flexed his fingers unconsciously. “You know, for some reason I'm getting the impression you don't like me too much!” he growled out and then pulled the arrow out of his hand. “Maybe I'm just overreacting." 

“What? Are you going to pretend that you’re different from the rest of them?” Gunn asked derisively. 

“Yeah,” Angel said with a barely controlled voice. “And then, I’ll pretend that I just saved her life.” He looked around the warehouse, taking his surroundings and the creative booby traps these kids had set up. “You put a lot of work into this, some clever stuff, really. I'm impressed, but I have a few suggestions.” 

Gunn cocked his weapon again. “I don't think we're interested.” 

“Yeah? You should be,” Angel gritted out as he pulled the quiver from his hand and tossed it at Gunn’s feet. “Who do you think that would have killed? We are fighting on the same side.” 

“The same side of what?” Chain asked. 

“I didn't come here to kill you,” Angel stated. 

Gunn lowered his crossbow and stepped closer. “It don't matter why you're here, or what you are. If you ever show your face down here again, don't count on any long goodbyes.” 

The gang left and Angel sank down on top of a barrel, wincing from the pain in his side. 

_Spike?_

_I’m here. You shut the link down on me._

_I had to. I had to keep you safe. A bunch of vigilante kids had me trapped in a warehouse full of fun gadgets to duck and dodge. I’m sorry about the pain in your shoulder._

_It’s fine, Angel. Are you okay?_

_Yeah. Just a couple of holes in my body, nothing fatal. However, childe, this sense of concern you’re having over my welfare is not in any way distracting me from the damage you committed to my MasterCard. I’m still going to punish you . . . after I rest and let myself heal._

_I’m shocked and appalled, hurt even, that would think I only slipped in as a way to get you to forget those measly charges on your credit card._ Spike said in mock surprise. 

_Forty-two grand is **not** measly. You put me in a difficult situation! I had to explain why I would never use the money in that account. She’s still after me for a raise. Not that she ever does actual work. And because of that, you will be punished the next time we meet and it’s not over world-in-peril situations._

_Yes, Sire. I’ll take my punishment like a good boy. But, you should see what I bought!_

_I **did** see it . . . **on my credit card bill**._

_Nah, that’s not the same as seeing the things in person_. Spike scoffed. 

Angel checked to make sure the envelope with the pictures of David Nabbitt were till in one piece and then got up and staggered back to the apartment. He and Spike talked on the way home. 

_Your girl’s looking to do some damage of her own up here_. 

_Why? What’s going on?_

_You remember that Demon Research Initiative that’s up here. It seems they built this cyborg thing from parts of demon and human alike. Anyway, it’s been creating trouble for the Slayer. I saw her today when I was scoping things out. From what I got out of her, she’s planning to take this thing on . . . with the rest of her troupe. That is if they can get past some rift in their friendship. I don’t know what’s going on there. But, she’s determined . . ._

_Spike, you have to watch her back. It’s why you’re there. But, it’s more than that. If she dies in this thing with the cyborg – especially with Faith in prison now – there’ll be no one to protect the Hellmouth. I got to go, Spike. Watch out for her. Please?_

_Yeah._

Just as he was about to dim the link, he said, _Spike?_

_Sire?_

_Take care of yourself._

_Always do._

Angel was more worried about Spike and the cyborg thing in Sunnydale than he was about the kids who had just trapped him. He hoped his childe would be safe. He’d be able to feel him through the link, but that didn’t stop the worry. Walking into his building, Angel went straight for a first aid kit and some blood. Cordelia and Wesley jumped to attention at his arrival. 

“Did you get the pictures?” Cordelia asked. 

“Were there any problems?” Wesley cut in. 

“Hm. All I want right now is to heal. I got the pictures with some difficulty,” Angel said. 

Angel pulled the envelope out of coat pocket, handed it to Wesley and gingerly took the coat off. He pushed the first aid kit into Cordelia’s hands, sat on the desk and took his shirt off to reveal his wounds from the encounter with Gunn’s crew. As Cordelia set to work, Wesley pulled the pictures out and flipped through them. 

“That's very nice work. I'm sure Mr. Nabbitt will be greatly relieved to get these back,” Wesley said as he sat down next to Angel on the edge of the desk. One picture caught his eye and he tried to examine it more closely. “Oh my.” 

Angel looked over his shoulder to see and said, “It's upside down.” 

Wesley turned the picture around and they both looked at it while Cordelia put the last piece of tape in place. 

“Certainly not something one would want framed,” Wesley said his throat suddenly dry. 

“How does it feel?” Cordelia asked Angel. 

“I can't possibly imagine it's pleasant,” Wesley answered still looking at the picture. 

“Ew,” Angel commented when he saw the image. 

Cordelia sighed. “I'm talking to Angel.” 

Angel and Wesley turned as one and looked at her. 

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Wesley said when he realized what she meant. 

Angel stood up and tried to work the kinks out. “It feels,” he winced as he pulled on his shirt, “it feels better.” 

Cordelia gave him a concerned look. “Maybe you should rest. You look like . . .” 

Angel looked squarely at her while buttoning the shirt. “Like I’ve been beaten and stabbed?” 

Cordelia shrugged and girlishly asked, “Want to see the check again?” 

Angel’s mouth became a grim line. “I want to find those kids. I don’t think any of them have homes. They’re probably living together somewhere.” 

“How many are there?” Wesley asked. 

“I’m not sure. Six, seven, maybe more? A couple of them couldn’t have been more than sixteen,” Angel replied. 

Cordelia’s inner rich girl mentality kicked in when she observed, “God. Twenty minutes ride from billionaires and crab puffs – kids are going to war.” 

“This isn't something they just started doing. I mean, they were ready. They've been pushed to this,” Angel tried to move his shoulder a little at a time. 

“In which case I can certainly understand their stake first and ask questions later state of mind. It's how they survive,” Wesley philosophized. 

“And the idea of a vampire in a white hat probably seems a little ‘give me a break-y’?” Cordelia pondered. 

Angel shook his head at the notion of it all. “They're in over their heads. They're going to get themselves killed. If they're hunting vampires, there has to be a nest in the area. Wesley, I want you to find out where those kids live.” 

Wesley nodded. “Consider it done.” 

“I'm going to find that nest before they do. It'll have to be close. Probably in a ten-block area.” Angel winced as he pulled his coat on. “And it'll have to be a building with sewer access.” Angel stepped into the elevator; the pain of his wounds still hurt him considerably. He turned back with a grimace on his face and asked Cordelia, “Can I just see that check again?” 

**************************

Gunn and his crew had locked him in a meat locker. Angel had tried to offer his help to them. But they refused to even trust him a little and they shoved him into this contraption. He supposed he had been worst places in his life. Like the time Darla left him in that burning barn to face Daniel Holtz alone. 

Angel started banging against the door of the meat locker. It refused to budge under his strength. _Damn industrial meat lockers._ He then switched to feeling the wall and found a hollow panel. After beating against it for a while, Angel managed to punch a hole in it. He sagged against the wall a bit. 

_Spike?_

_Yessss_. 

_How’s your progress?_

_Just about to break into this Initiative complex. It’s strange, you know. I’m a demon. So why am I breaking into a facility that essentially is trying to end my species?_

_Think of it as an assignment if that’ll help._

_You and your bloody do-gooder mentality. Everything is about saving a life with you. Well, I’m sorry Sire, but I can’t feel even the tiniest bit of remorse for these prats who want to experiment on us._

_It’s not about saving a life, Spike. It’s about saving a soul._

_That’s all well and good mate, but it’s not like I have one of those._

Angel let his forehead fall against the wall. _Why oh why . . .?_ He thought to himself. He guessed he should be lucky that Spike had come this far. His childe had been going against his nature up to now. He hadn’t attacked the Scoobies. He was watching after Buffy, helping her when he was needed. Spike was currently breaking into a compound that housed an American version of the Demon Research Initiative. The same group which Angel had saved him from during the War. 

Angel clenched his teeth in frustration. He should be there helping Spike, helping Wesley and Cordelia on another case; anything. Instead, he was stuck in this meat locker. He punched through the wall again, knocking a bigger hole in it. Sticking his hand through the hole, he tried to reach for the door handle but couldn’t. A hand reached past his bruised and bleeding knuckles and opened the door. 

Cordelia leaned against the open door and asked, “Trying to open that?” When Angel peeked out, leaning against the doorjamb to look at her and Wesley, she assumed, “They locked you in, huh?” 

Angel rolled his eyes. “No. I just love old meat lockers.” 

Wesley’s lips thinned in a disapproving line. “You should've tried to call us on your cell phone.” When Angel gave him a sheepish expression, he went on, “You probably forgot you had it.” 

Angel fished into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone out and looked at it.  Spike was better with modern technology than he was. “These things hardly ever work. Besides it was a lot easier and quicker to just,” he said as he proceeded to mime the way he punched the hole through the wall. He shook the pain out of his hand. This was getting him nowhere and he had a job to do. Frustrated, he said, “Look, I'm the boss here, I say when we use the cell phones, people are going to die, and . . . I have to go.” With that, he turned and left. 

“You’re welcome!” Cordelia yelled after him. 

**************************

**_Sunnydale, the Initiative_**

After the spell to bring forth the First Slayer’s essence wore off, everyone dropped to the floor. Fighting could be heard outside the room designated as 314. There were demons and humans fighting each other within the facility. Spike was one of those demons, but he was fighting both species. 

_Spike? What’s going on?_ Angel’s voice sounded in his head. 

This must have been what his Sire felt like while he was dealing with the obstacle course those kids put up and Spike had reached through the link. Spike punched the demon he was currently fighting in the face and watched him drop. When Angel’s voice slipped into his mind was about the time he turned to face his next opponent and the human hit him, knocking him on his ass. 

Spike shook his head to clear it. _Can’t talk right now, Peaches. I’m kind of in a life and death situation here._

Spike got to his feet in one smooth catlike move and twirled in a whirlwind of leather to elbow the human in the nose. He heard the satisfying crunch of the cartilage breaking and then kicked the human’s feet out from under him. 

_Just as long as you’re all right. I have vamps down here trying to claim **my town** as their territory._ Angel growled. 

Spike took note of the possessiveness reflected in Angel’s voice. His Sire didn’t realize he was staking claim to everything: L.A. as _his_ town, Spike as _his_ boy and _his_ mate. Spike felt a tendril of excitement in the pit of his stomach, but didn’t care to analyze it just yet. He still couldn’t separate the true feelings from those brought on by the claims. 

_So, did you take care of them?_ Spike asked, keeping an eye out for anyone else. 

_I’m on my way to do just that. I wanted to check in with you though. I’ll talk to you soon, watch out for yourself._

Spike made an affirmative sound and went back to the task at hand. Just then, a demon started beating down the door to room 314.  Spike ran toward it and jumped on its back. The demon shrugged him off, knocking him to the floor, and succeeded in breaking the door down. As soon as it cleared the doorway, Spike ran inside, jumped on it’s back again and this time, broke its neck. Spike caught himself as the demon fell to the floor. 

Spike looked down at the dead demon. “Nasty sort of fellow. Lucky for you blighters I was here, eh?” 

“Yes, thank you,” Giles pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

“You probably just saved us so we wouldn’t stake you right here,” Xander sneered. 

“Did it work?” Spike smirked. When they all ignored him as they stood up, he went on, “well then, everything’s all right. And, we all get to be not staked through the heart. Good work team.” 

Buffy and Riley opened the hidden panel. While Giles and the others greeted her and chattered about the spell, Riley stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Spike. Storming across the room, Riley didn’t stop until they were inches from each other. 

“Why are you here, Spike?” Riley asked angrily. 

“Doing my job,” Spike said nonchalantly. 

“If we didn’t need all the help we could get right now with this war going on, I swear I could kill you right now,” Riley clenched his teeth. 

“Yeah, well, not before I would have killed you. You know, vampires do bite their victims. But you? I wouldn’t even bother to bite you. That thick neck of yours has to taste like old leather. No, I wouldn’t bite you, but I would snap your head clean off your body. Remember crewcut, I’m the demon and you don’t scare me. However, I can smell the fear pouring off you.” Spike move closer and sniffed the air around Riley. “And, it smells delicious.” 

Buffy stepped up between them. “Just what we need in the middle of this: more testosterone. Spike, shut up.” 

Spike turned his glare on her. 

Riley refocused on his surroundings. “We still got men out there.” 

Buffy looked at Giles, Xander and Willow. “You guys get to the exits and get them open.”

Spike returned his glare at Riley and silently dared him to make a move when Buffy turned her attention to her boyfriend. 

“Riley, organize the soldiers, pull ‘em back. I’ll take point,” Buffy commanded. 

She started to walk out when Spike grabbed her arm. “I’m going with you. You need someone to watch your back and with brain-trust here rallying the soldiers, you’re only one girl, Slayer-strength notwithstanding.” 

Buffy nodded and walked out of the room, knocking a demon down on the way out. 

**************************

**_Washington, D.C._**

“It was an experiment. The Initiative represented the Government's interests in not only controlling the otherworldly menace, but also harnessing its power for our own military purposes. The considered opinion of this counsel is that this experiment has failed. Once the prototype took control of the complex, our soldiers suffered a forty percent casualty rate. It was only through the actions of the deserter and a group of civilian insurrectionists that our losses were not total. I trust the irony of that is not lost on any of us. Maggie Walsh's vision was brilliant, but ultimately unsupportable. The demons cannot be harnessed and cannot be controlled. It is therefore our recommendation that this project be terminated and all records concerning it expunged. Our soldiers will be debriefed, standard confidentiality clause. We will monitor the civilians and usual measures prepared should they try to go public. I don't think they will. The Initiative itself will be filled in with concrete. Burn it down, gentlemen. Burn it down, and salt the Earth.” 

**************************

**_Los Angeles_**

While Gunn was looking out at the L.A. skyline, he thought about the day’s events and about how he felt about a vampire willing to do good deeds and help others. In his world, it had always been black and white and the bad guys were always able to be seen. Meeting Angel had turned his world upside-down. He was still lost in thought when the vampire in question silent appeared beside him. 

“What are you doing here?” Gunn asked. 

“Skulking professionally,” Angel replied. 

Gunn turned toward him. “Look, I'm glad for what you did, okay? But, I don't need no Guardian Angel, and I don't need no talking to. It's not going to change the way things are down here, man.  They're going to keep coming, and we're going to keep fighting.” 

“I know,” Angel said simply. 

Gunn was surprised at the quick answer. “That's it? You aren't going to talk _at_ me, be all daddy-figure?” 

Angel looked out at the night sky and asked, “What am I going to tell you that you haven't already learned?” 

“I killed her,” Gunn commented. 

“You didn't.” 

“Near enough. She was the reason, man. How come you do it? How come you're out here?” Gunn inquired. _Why would a vampire be out here fighting against his own kind?_

“What else are we going do?” Angel answered. “I'll be around.” 

Gunn scoffed. “I don't need any help.” 

“I might.” 

After a moment, Gunn looked over at Angel, but the vampire had left as silently as he arrived.


	21. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

 

##  _Chapter 17: Step 1 – Infatuation (Part 17)_

**_Los Angeles, Wolfram & Hart_**

“You lost the scroll of Aberjian?” Voca asked, unimpressed. 

Holland Manners gave the demon a tight smile by way of apology. “The scroll was stolen from our vault.” 

“The raising cannot be performed without the scroll,” Voca informed the small group. 

“We understand,” Lilah said all-too-fast. 

Lindsey stepped forward and bowed his head a little. “It was my mistake. I'll rectify it.” 

“You will do nothing!” Voca exclaimed. “ _I_ will retrieve the scroll myself. Who stole it?” 

“Angel,” Holland replied. 

“Angel! I am summoned for the raising – the very thing that was to bring this creature down to us, tear him from the Powers That Be, and _he_ has the scroll?” 

“We're not unaware of the irony," Lilah said apologetically. 

“He is in the possession of the scroll. His connection to the Powers That Be is complete,” Voca growled. The Senior Partners could not have been wrong about this firm, but considering the inept people that surrounded him at this moment . . . They weren’t evil, they were playing games. He didn’t like people who played games with him. 

Lilah scurried for an excuse so that she wouldn’t look so bad in light of the things that Lindsey did to bring shame to this firm. “He hasn't had time to make a full study of the text.” 

“No,” Voca agreed. “And he won't. All avenues to the Powers shall be cut off from him and the scroll returned to us.” 

“What can we do to help?” Lindsey asked. 

“You can leave it to me,” Voca stated flatly. This was the last time he ever trusted Wolfram  & Hart in this dimension to do anything for him. 

Voca and the two monks who accompanied him left the room in a swirl of robes. When they were gone, Holland Manners turned to his colleagues and said, “Well, end of discussion?” 

**************************

**_Sunnydale, Summers’ Residence_**

Buffy had suggested a sleep-over at her house. The gang was due for a little R &R after dealing with Adam this past year. Now that he was dead and the Initiative was effectively destroyed, they could all enjoy themselves until the next Big Bad came along. Buffy saw Spike out of the corner of her eye. _Speaking of Big Bads._

“Going to invite me in for a nightcap, Slayer,” Spike teased. 

“Not on your life. You can go home to where it is you’re living nowadays,” Buffy said. 

“What kind of hostess would you make, Slayer? You’re not very hospitable,” Spike pointed out. 

“I’m not really the gracious type when it comes to undead pains in my ass,” Buffy said with a false smile and then turned serious, “so, go home.” 

“Fine, Slayer, have it your way. But, the next time you’re in a situation, I may just let you sweat it out before helping you. I don’t care what Angel thinks I should be doing.” With that, Spike walked in the opposite direction toward his home. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Chamber of the Oracles_**

There was a flash of light and then the sibling-Oracles saw their uninvited guest. 

“How dare you enter this sacred space,” the woman said irritably. 

“Who do you think you are?” the man finished. 

“We do not appreciate being summoned by a lower being,” the woman said crossly. 

“Who knows no better than to come here on a whim," the man finished. 

“I'm not here on a whim." Voca’s tone was flat and uninterested. 

“We do not council your kind. The powers of darkness are not allowed to cross this threshold. How did you get it?” the woman asked impatiently. 

“The old order passes away and the new order's come. He that was first shall now be last and he that was dead shall now arise,” Voca intoned as if he were saying the incantation of a spell or a reading from an ancient scroll. 

“Yes, and he that is trespassing shall now depart,” the woman interrupted. 

Voca put a hand behind his back and a battle scythe materialized. 

“We shall speak no more,” the man intoned. 

“Yes. I know,” Voca said before slinging the scythe. 

**************************

**_Sunnydale, Crawford Street Mansion_**

If the Slayer wasn't going to invite him to her little powwow, that was fine with Spike. He could finally go home, relax and enjoy the new furnishings he had installed in the mansion. He even got the French doors that led to the atrium fixed. They had been broken since Buffy and Faith had destroyed them in their last cat-fight. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Promenade_**

Cordelia walked through an open market. When she saw an art display set up, she stopped. She knew of Angel’s artistic talent from when Angelus had stalked Buffy for two years and left drawings as calling cards. Maybe drawing would spark Angel into wanting something more in life than to just exist. The vendor stepped closer as Cordelia picked up a set of paints. 

“Do you paint?” 

Cordelia was startled for a moment and then shook her head. “Oh, no. I was just looking for something for a friend. I thought maybe if he had a hobby. He’s a little detached from things.” 

“Well, they say art is the best therapy for that," the woman said brightly. 

“Really?” 

“Sure, they use it in mental institutions all the time. You get the patients drawing and working with clay, it helps them to get back in touch,” the woman explained. 

“He’s not crazy or anything. He's . . . just different?” Cordelia brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. 

“Depressed,” the woman surmised. 

“Well, he wears a lot of black. How much are these pastels?” 

“Oh, these are on special. You get the entire set, the large one, and some drawing paper and little...” 

As the woman went about making a deal, Voca walked along the promenade, his face hidden from the crowded marketplace by his hooded cloak. He tracked Cordelia’s movements like a hawk. His enemy’s link to the Powers That Be was now leaving a vendor’s booth and window-shopping as she walked along the path. 

Voca sped up his steps and passed her from behind, his hand brushing hers lightly. Cordelia felt the barest touch and looked around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. She resumed her trek down the boardwalk when she got hit by a short vision. She pulled out her cell phone, but before she can dial out, she was hit by another stronger vision. It didn't end. The anguish of the vision caused her to stumble to the ground, screaming. The art vendor hurried over, crouched down beside her, and yelled for someone to dial 911. 

**************************

**_Sunnydale, Crawford Street Mansion_**

Spike had just walked into the mansion ten minutes before. After he poured himself a glass of wine, he stripped his demon blood-encrusted clothes off his body and threw them in the trash. There was no way a person could wash Kralean demon blood and puss out of their clothes. 

He went into the bathroom and adjusted the water temperature settings on his new Jacuzzi shower. When it was just right, which was hotter than a human could withstand, he set his wine glass down on the counter and stepped into the shower. The showerhead had a wide spray, which allowed Spike to stand under it for a few minutes and let the hot water batter against his back as he flexed the muscles to work out the kinks. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel Investigations_**

Voca entered Angel Investigations and disappeared into the shadows. He could feel that someone was in the building. Angel studied the scroll as he walked down the steps to his apartment. He couldn’t see how Wesley could make heads or tails of anything written here. He knew other languages, even demonic ones, but these prophecies were not his thing. He sighed, rolled the scroll up and locked it in his weapons cabinet. He sensed a presence, but when he started to investigate, the phone rang. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello, Mr . . . . Angel? Do you know a Cordelia Chase? She left your number as an emergency contact,” said the voice on the other end. 

“Yeah, what happened to her?” Angel asked gruffly. 

“Are you family, Sir? I can’t really give out patient information, unless it’s a family member.” 

“I’m her employer. This is her only family in town. What happened?” Angel growled out. _Damn humans and their stupid rules._

“She was brought in to St. Matthew's Hospital and was admitted to the psychiatric ward. She’s screaming and crying and we can’t calm her down.” 

“I’m on my way,” Angel said. He slammed the phone down and ran up the steps two at a time. 

When Angel had left the building, Voca materialized from the shadows. He broke open the weapons cabinet, took the scroll, replaced it with a similar item and closed it again. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, St. Matthew's Hospital_**

Angel ran down the corridor to the nurse’s station. He tapped on the desk and frantically said, “I'm looking for Cordelia Chase.” 

The nurse was startled to see someone standing there but she recovered quickly. “She is ah . . . the doctor is with her, if you’ll just have a seat over there.” 

Angel heard Cordelia scream and ran toward her room. The nurse hurried to hang up the phone and catch him, but he was too fast. 

“Wait! Sir, you have to let the doctor handle this!” 

Cordelia was convulsing and screaming on the bed. Angel stepped into the room and pushed the doctor out of the way to get to her. 

“Hey, you can’t be in here,” the doctor said angrily. 

“What happened?” Angel demanded. 

“Are you family?” the Doctor asked impatiently. 

“Yes!” 

“They brought her in a few hours ago. I'm not sure what happened.  Does she have a history of mental illness?” 

“No,” Angel stated. 

“Does she use drugs?” the Doctor inquired. 

“No,” Angel growled. 

“Well, she is having a psychotic episode. We've done a CAT scan. There is no organic damage that we can see, but we can't seem to sedate her,” the Doctor explained. 

Angel ignored the doctor and grabbed Cordelia’s shoulders. “Cordelia, can you hear me?” When Cordelia didn’t seem to even recognize him, Angel yelled her name over and over. 

“We're trying a number of different drug therapies. Do you know if she has any allergies?” the Doctor pressed on. 

“I don't think so. Drugs won't help her.” _Why did everyone want to use drugs to heal?_ Nothing could heal Cordelia. Whatever was done to her tapped into her psyche and was now tormenting her. Angel couldn’t place it just yet, but if his suspicions were correct, then Wolfram  & Hart was behind this. 

“Well, something better. I need to inform you, if we don't find a way to stop it...” 

Angel looked up at the doctor and took the veiled threat for what it was. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Angel Investigations_**

Wesley walked into the office, carrying a load of books. He went downstairs and noticed the broken lock on the weapons cabinet. He put the books down and opened it slowly. Now that he was close enough, he could hear a ticking sound. He backed away and tried to escape the building. 

Outside, Angel pulled up across the street and got out of the car. When he got halfway across the street, a fiery blast bubbled up from the basement level and exploded. The blast sent him flying back in the air. He landed in a heap on the road while flames engulfed the building and car alarms started blaring all along the street. 

Angel sat up, shook his head to clear, and then looked at looked at his destroyed building in disbelief. Everything was gone. First Cordelia, now this. What the hell were Wolfram  & Hart trying to do? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wesley’s car. _Oh God, Wes is in there!_ Angel ran into his burning apartment from the parking garage. 

“Wesley! Wesley! Wesley! Wes! Wes!” he kept screaming as he searched the wreckage for his employee and friend. 

Angel saw Wesley lying on the stairs that just two minutes before led up to the Angel Investigation offices. He ran over to Wesley and felt for a pulse. When he felt it, he tried to wake the man. After a few minutes, Angel knew he couldn’t stay in the building any longer before it collapsed on them. He grabbed Wesley, slung the former watcher over his shoulder, and headed out back the way he came. 

When Angel had cleared the building, he called 911 and watched the building burn. In a matter of minutes, the fire engines and police cruisers were in front of the building. The rescue workers bundled Wesley up into a waiting ambulance under Angel’s watchful eye. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed Spike’s number as he watched the doors of the ambulance close. 

“’ello?” Spike greeted. 

Angel closed his eyes at the bittersweet sound of his childe’s voice. At least Spike was all right. In the light of recent events, the blonde vampire had been pushed to the back of Angel’s mind. Not only could he hear Spike’s voice, but also the sound of . . . a terry-cloth towel? For a moment, Angel’s eyes hardened. While he was being attacked on all sides with Cordelia’s breakdown and the building burning up, _his childe was taking a bath!_ Angel took a moment to calm his nerves. Spike couldn’t have known what was happening with Cordelia and Wesley. He wasn’t linked to them. 

“Spike? Come home, I need you,” Angel said softly into the phone. 

“Where?” 

“St. Matthew's Hospital is where you’ll find me.” 

“Okay.” 

When the connection was cut without another word, Angel hung up and started walking to his car. He was brought up short by Kate Lockley. 

“It’s never a dull moment with you around, is there?" Kate asked derisively. 

He didn’t have time for this. Cordelia and Wesley needed him. He needed Spike. His boy. His beautiful boy was coming to L.A. because his Sire needed him even though his job was to help Buffy. Angel needed him more. He acknowledged Kate’s presence and stepped around her. “I have to go.” 

Kate grabbed his arm and he spun around to face her. “Who the hell do you think you are? You are a major witness to a major crime scene. You are not going anywhere.” 

Angel glared at her. This woman had hated him for what he was for the reason that vampires had killed her father, and she blamed him since there was no one left to blame in her world. Well, he was getting sick of it. “You want to try and stop me, Kate?” 

“I'm glad we are not playing friends anymore,” Kate said belligerently. “And I'm real sick and tired of your attitude. There is a thing called the law!” 

Angel stepped into her personal space. “This isn't about the law; this is about a little thing called life. Now, I'm sorry about your father. But, I didn't kill your father. And, I'm sick and tired of you blaming me for everything you can't handle! You want to be enemies? Try me.” 

Angel brushed past her to his car while she stared after him. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, St. Matthew's Hospital_**

Angel watched Wesley as he lay in bed hooked up to a heart monitor. After a few moments, Angel turned and he walked down a hall to a door that led to the fire escape. He went up a floor and entered the hallway through the fire escape door. He walked down the corridor to Cordelia’s room. 

Standing beside her bed, Angel watched over her. Cordelia was sedated, finally lying still on the bed, but she was in permanent psychosis due to the never-ending visions that plagued her mind. 

Spike appeared in the doorway as a swirl of black leather duster and a shock of white-blonde hair. Angel looked up at him and walked to him on autopilot. Once he was close enough, he grabbed Spike by the back of the neck and jerked the whipcord body against him. He tightened his hold on Spike in a crushing hug and buried his face in his childe’s neck. 

Spike let Angel hug him for a moment and then choked out, “I know I don’t need to breathe, but I would like to keep my ribs in tact, peaches.” 

Angel said nothing. Instead, he grabbed Spike’s wrist and dragged him across the hall into a supply closet. Once the door clicked shut, Angel’s face shifted to his demon and he sank his fangs into his childe’s neck. It wasn’t to drink; he just needed to be sure; to ground himself, before he totally lost it. Cordelia was still catatonic for lack of a better term, and Wesley was healing from third-degree burns. Angel felt sure he was going to go mad. 

Spike dug his nails into his Sire’s back as his elder’s teeth bit deeper. It had taken him a bit of time to get here. The hospital was a big place. He saw the sorrow on Angel’s face when he stepped into Cordelia’s room. Not that Spike had any real connection to them, but they were his Sire’s pet humans. Angel considered them family, and with the claims in place, especially being in close proximity to the elder vampire, Angel’s emotional pain was his own. 

Spike didn’t return the bite. Instead, he buried his face in the crook of Angel’s neck to scent and lick him. He could smell the sadness and underneath the everyday torment of his cursed soul. When he licked Angel’s skin, he could taste the tears that his Sire refused to allow. He tasted Angel’s bitter pain of confronting Kate Lockley earlier and seeing Wesley being hauled into the ambulance. He could taste the agony that the sense of loss brought from when Angel had called him and told him he was needed. 

After being unceremoniously kicked out of the Slayer’s home earlier tonight when the Scooby gang went there to relax after defeating Adam, he trudged home and was close to calling Angel himself to beg to come home. Even though she needed it, the Slayer didn’t want his help. She made it clear to him every time they crossed paths that she could handle herself. That was until she got into a bind. 

He didn’t have to call though. Instead, Angel called him. Angel told him to come home. Angel told him that he needed Spike more than the Slayer did right now. It hadn’t taken him long to dress, lock the mansion up and hightail it to L.A. 

Now, he was plastered against the wall of a supply closet with a hard-on from his Sire’s fangs penetrating his body. Angel must have felt his hardness, because Spike found himself being crushed even tighter against Angel’s shaking body. Spike was at a loss for what to do when he felt Angel’s tears wet his shoulder. 

Angel felt Spike lift his head, carefully extracting his fangs from his boy’s neck. Then, Spike’s hands framed his face and his childe licked the tear tracks away before pressing a soft kiss against his lips, letting him taste the salty-sweetness of his own tears. They weren’t blood-tears. Blood-tears were reserved for blood-tied mates and family. Cordelia and Wesley were human family, so they were human tears. 

Angel bit his own tongue and thrust it into Spike’s mouth. He allowed his childe to drink the blood for a moment and then pulled away. He brushed his thumb over a high cheekbone and stared into Spike’s blue eyes. 

“Angel,” Spike said softly. “You’re still in your true guise.” 

Angel shifted back to his human mask as he continued to stare at Spike’s beautiful, sculpted features. When he spoke, it was a hoarse whisper. “You came when I needed you. I thought you would stay with her because I had ordered you to.” 

“You called me, Angel, and the claims yanked. I don’t know what I’m going to do now that I’m here, but here I am,” Spike smirked. 

“I’ll go check on Cordy and then we’ll go,” Angel said as he opened the door and stepped out with Spike following. The blonde stopped just inside the room and watched as his Sire stood beside the bed, took hold of Cordelia’s hand, and leaned over the bed. 

“Cordelia. I'm going to fix this. I promise. I'm going to get you back. I need you back.” He bowed his head as he let go of her hand and noticed a black symbol on the back of it. 

“Spike? Come here and look at this.” 

Spike walked around the bed to stand beside Angel and saw the black symbol as well. “Looks like whoever did this to her put a hex on her. Do you have any enemies that would do that?” 

Angel’s face turned grim. “I have a whole law firm of enemies.” 

Angel grabbed Spike’s wrist and dragged him out of the room. “Oi, mate! Where are we going?” 

“To see the Oracles.” 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Chamber of the Oracles_**

“Wait here for me, I won’t be but a second,” Angel said. 

Spike nodded and watched as Angel pulled out a slip of paper and started canting a spell to get to the Oracles. 

“I come before the Oracles for guidance and direction. I beseech access to the knowing ones.” 

A doorway beside Spike opened with a flash of blinding light. He shielded his sensitive eyes until the flash was gone and noticed that Angel was gone. 

Inside the Chamber, Angel stumbled in the entrance. He blinked his eyes and saw the Oracles lying dead on the floor. Voca’s bloody scythe was still buried in the woman’s body. 

Just then, her spirit appeared next to him. “It is unfortunate. Things are unraveling. The dark ones broach our temples now.” 

“Can you help me?” Angel asked pleadingly. 

“I can't stay long. I've been dead a while. So far I don't like it.” The woman’s voice was no longer singsong with the poetry of her brother’s voice to conclude her thoughts. Instead, it was monotone. 

“My friend who gets the visions . . .” Angel started to say. 

“Is in trouble,” she finished. “It's his mark, the one who did this.” 

“Who? Who did this?” Angel implored. 

“Voca. A warrior of the underworld. He wants you weak. So he opened her mind to all the ones who cry out in pain and need. She doesn't have long either,” the woman said. Her voice was still an awful monotone. 

“How can I stop it?” 

“The sacred scroll of Aberjian is now in Voca's possession. The scroll is what you need,” the woman told him. 

The woman started to fade. “Wait!” Angel yelled. 

The woman only looked at her dead corpse and that of her brother. “Find the scroll. The words of Anatole, only they can remove the mark and save your friend.” 

“Where can I find him? I’ll repay him for what he did here,” Angel said with conviction. 

“He is here for the raising,” the woman told him. 

“The raising?” Angel was confused. _There was a raising? What the hell are Wolfram & Hart up to?_

The woman looked Angel’s way. “Like so many of them he hides behind man's law. Stop him.” Then she faded out completely. 

“I will,” Angel promised. He grabbed the scythe out of the dead woman’s body and left. 

Angel stepped through the doorway and the flash of light disappeared to show a bricked up entryway. Spike was leaned up against the opposite wall lighting a cigarette. Once it was lit, he pocketed the Zippo and looked up at his Sire. “Well, what did they say?” 

“They’re dead. Killed by some warrior of the underworld named Voca. He left this behind,” Angel said holding up the bloody scythe. 

“Well, well. Go in there looking for answers and come out with a bloody weapon, quite literally I might add,” Spike said. “What are you going to do with it?” 

“I thought I’d hunt him down and bury it in his spine,” Angel growled. “I’ll drop you back at the hospital. I need you to protect them while I hunt down Voca.” 

“I’m a demon, Sire, not a baby-sitter! First, the bloody Slayer now I have to look after a cheerleader and a watcher?” Spike said petulantly. 

“It’s because you are a demon that I need you to protect them. You know them, Spike, I’ll feel much better knowing you’re there,” Angel said. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Crypt Owned By Wolfram & Hart_**

Five vampires were chained to a box set in the middle of a five-pointed star inside a circle laid into the floor. Two monks enter the crypt followed by Voca. 

“We have prepared a holy place in the darkness and anointed it with oil. We have taken of the blood of the living and gathered together the living dead,” the Monks said in unison. 

“As it was written they shall prepare the way, and the very gate of hell shall open. That which is above shall tremble,” just then the earth trembled, “for that which is below shall arise. And the world shall know the beast and the beast shall know the world.” 

Voca walked slowly from one point of the star to the next. “Five are without breath.” 

“Yet they live,” the Monks chanted. 

“Five are without time.” 

“Yet they live.” 

Holland Manners, Lilah and Lindsey entered the crypt and stood back to watch the proceedings. 

“Five are without soul,” Voca intoned. 

“Yet they live,” the Monks chanted. 

Holland moved closer to Lindsey. “They haven't even gotten to the Latin yet.” 

“Five are without sun,” Voca intoned. 

“Yet they live,” the Monks chanted. 

A sound got Voca’s attention, and he looked up. Laying the scroll down on top of the crate, he walked to the steps that lead down into the crypt. 

“What is it?” Lilah asked curiously. 

“I don't know,” Holland answered. 

Voca produced another scythe. A moment later Angel burst through the door at the top of the stairs and the two of them began to battle it out. 

“Lindsey,” Holland said, annoyed. 

Lindsey continued to watch the fight between Voca and Angel for a moment before he stepped forward and picked up the scroll. “Five are dead.”  When the monks didn’t answer, he yelled, “Say it!” 

“Yet they live,” the monks chanted. 

Lindsey started speaking in Latin while Holland arranged for the movers to take the crate out of the crypt. The five vampires surrounding the crate shatter to dust as the earth shook and a whirlwind started to form around the box. The funnel of air sucked the vampire dust into the box, and then a ring of light explodes outward throwing Lindsey against the wall. He landed in an unconscious heap on the floor. 

As Angel and Voca continued to fight, the movers pushed the box out. Holland glanced at the unmoving Lindsey, chalked it up to a small sacrifice and then followed the others out of the crypt. A short time later, Lindsey slowly regained consciousness. He still had the scroll in his hand. Angel finally succeeded in getting the scythe away from Voca and pinned him up against the wall. He yanked the mask off Voca's face to reveal a maggot-filled hole where his nose should be. 

“Nice,” Angel commented before driving the blade of the scythe into Voca's chest, killing him. 

Behind Angel, Lindsey finally made it to his feet, grabbed a post topped by a cross, and brandished it in Angel's direction. Angel turned and slowly walked towards him with the bloody scythe held loosely in his right hand. 

“Lindsey, give me the scroll,” Angel growled. 

“That's not going to happen. It belongs to us,” Lindsey sneered. 

“Us? You put your faith in Wolfram and Hart?” Angel asked, feigning surprise. 

“You said I had to make a choice,” Lindsey answered. 

“And you did,” Angel stated. 

“Yeah. I had a crisis, and I want to thank you for your help with that, but I see things more clearly now.” 

“You don't see anything. You don't know what faith is,” Angel replied. 

Lindsey held up the scroll. “I see that what happened here tonight was foretold. I know that it doesn't bode well for you. I see that you are either the one with the power or you're powerless.” 

“Uh-huh. Do you also see what I'm going to do to you if you don't give me that scroll?” Angel growled again. 

“You need the words of Anatole to cure your friend. She's your connection to the Powers That Be. And, since it is foretold that we sever all your connections,” Lindsey held the scroll into the flames burning in an urn beside him, “well . . .” 

Angel had enough of the games and threw the scythe, cutting off Lindsey's hand at the wrist. The young lawyer dropped the cross and screamed as he fell to the ground. He cradled the bleeding stump against his chest as Angel walked over to retrieve the scroll from the floor beside him. 

“Don't believe everything you're foretold,” Angel cautioned. 

Lindsey tried to suppress his screams as Angel walked out. The second he got outside, he leaned against the wall and tried to calm the demon inside him. Angelus wanted to rip Lindsey to shreds and drain him dry. Angel had other things that were more important though. He had to get Cordelia back. 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Saint Matthews Hospital_ **

Cordelia still lay in bed in a catatonic state. Wesley sat in a wheelchair beside it with Angel leaned over her bed on the other side and Spike sitting behind Angel drinking from a bag of B-positive blood that his Sire had gotten for him. 

Wesley opened the scroll that Angel had taken from Lindsey and began to read. “And if the beast shalt find thee, and touch thee, thou shalt be wounded in thy soul . . . and thou shalt know madness. The beast shalt attack and cripple thee, and thou shalt know neither friend nor family. But, thou shalt undo the beast. Thou shalt find the sacred words of Anatole and thou shalt be restored. Three times shalt thou say these words: unbind, unbind, unbind.” 

A white flash encompassed Cordelia's room nearly blinding everyone in present, but Spike who had the sense to wear his black goggles, especially after the display at the Chamber of the Oracles earlier. Cordelia blinked her eyes as if she were awakening from a tormented sleep and saw three faces in the room. Angel glanced down at her hand and saw that the mark was gone. Cordelia focused on Angel’s face, and he smiled down at her. 

“Hey,” he said softly. 

“Angel?” Cordelia’s eyes looked haunted. 

“Welcome back,” he smiled. 

Cordelia glanced at Spike who was pushing the goggles up to his forehead and then looked over at Wesley. Spike stood up and squeezed Angel’s shoulder. “I’ll go hunt up a doctor in this place,” he announced. He smiled at Cordelia and walked out the door. 

Cordelia looked back at Angel. “I saw them all. There is so much pain. We have to help them.” 

Angel gripped her hand and stroked her cheek with his free one. “We will.” 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Cordelia’s Apartment_** It had taken some heavy convincing on Angel and Spike’s part to get Cordelia to invite Spike in. Having him appear at Angel Investigations was one thing, but she wasn’t so sure about inviting him into her private residence. It was bad enough having to deal with a male ghost. That had put a kink in her social life, not to mention the mind numbing visions. After the standard shovel speech, Cordelia allowed Spike to enter her home. 

Cordelia was in the kitchen fixing a sandwich while Wesley sat at the living room table with the scroll and a collection of books spread out around him. Angel sat on a chest against the wall with Spike behind him, leaned against the wall. 

“Here is something,” Wesley spoke up. 

“What is it?” Angel perked up. 

“The beast of Amalfi, a razor toothed six-eyed harbinger of death. No, wait, that's due to arise in 2003 in Reseda,” he said off-handedly and went back to reading to himself. 

“I would have guessed Tarzana,” Angel commented. 

Cordy set the sandwich and a glass of milk on the table in front of Wesley and went back into the kitchen to get two plastic cups filled with blood. 

“Better cross-reference that,” Wesley noted to himself. He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I'm sorry; I don't know what they raised in that box. I'll keep looking.” 

Cordelia huffed. “You've been looking for two days. You need to relax and charge the brain cells.” She handed him the plate with the sandwich and more or less ordered, “Here. Eat.” 

Wesley accepted the plate and looked over at Angel. Cordelia handed the vampires the plastic cups full of blood. “You too.” When Angel looked up at her surprised, she said, “Don't be embarrassed. We're family.” 

“Would that include me, princess?” Spike smirked. 

Cordelia gave him an undetermined expression and turned to see that Wesley was staring at her. “What?” 

“It's just I . . . I-I'm not used to . . .” Wesley stammered. 

“He is not used to the new you,” Angel finished for him. 

Cordelia shrugged. “I know what's out there now. We have a lot of evil to fight, a lot of people to help. I just hope skin and bones, here, can figure out what those lawyers raised _sometime_ before the prophecy kicks in and you croak. That was the old me, wasn't it?” 

“I like them both,” Angel commented. 

Spike perked up at the hero references. “Hey now! That whole saving lollipops and puppies didn’t include me did it? I’m not doing this gig out of the kindness of my – oof!” At that moment, Angel chose to elbow Spike in the stomach. “I mean ‘yay, we’re the good guys, let’s go fight evil right now!’” 

Angel turned to Spike and glared at him. _Would you shut up? You’re still going to be punished for using my credit card, and sweet talking Cordelia right now is not helping your case._ Then, Angel shifted and stomped on Spike’s foot for good measure. 

“Yes, Sire,” Spike choked out. When Angel removed his foot, Spike silently yelled and hopped around on one foot, willing the sore one to stop hurting. 

Wesley dismissed the interaction and went back to his books. “Moving along . . . ah, oops. I may have made a tiny mistake.” Angel set the cup of blood down and stood up hearing that. Wesley went on, “I may have misinterpreted the world ‘Shanshu’. Remember I said meant you were going to die? Actually, I think it means that you are going to live.” 

“Okay, as tiny mistakes go . . . that's not one!” Cordelia said. 

“Shanshu has roots in so many different languages. The most ancient source is the Proto-Bantu and they consider life and death the same thing, part of a cycle, only a thing that's not alive never dies. It's - it's saying, that you get to live until you die. It's saying you become human.” 

Cordelia’s eyebrows furrowed. “That's the prophecy?” 

Wesley went back to reading from the book. “Ah, the vampire with a soul, once he fulfills his destiny, will Shanshu. Become human. It's his reward.” 

“Wow. Angel as a human,” Cordelia said in wonder. 

“That'll be nice,” Angel said nonchalantly. 

Spike scoffed. “That’s not a prophecy. That’s an old legend, something to get us vampires to play nice. You can’t stake your whole existence on a holy grail. The Holy Grail _doesn’t exist!_ ” 

“I beg to differ with you, Spike. The Scrolls of Aberjian are ancient. They probably go as far back as the descending line of Abraham. There is nothing in this scroll that hasn’t happened,” Wesley countered. 

“Wait,” Cordelia broke in. “What's that thing about him having to fulfill his destiny first?” 

Wesley went back to the scroll. “Well, it's saying that it won't happen tomorrow or the next day. He has to survive the coming darkness, the apocalyptic battles, a few plagues, and some . . . uh, several . . . not that many . . . fiends that will be unleashed,” Wesley read aloud. 

“So don't break out the champagne just yet,” Angel commented. 

Cordelia flipped her hair around when she turned to face Angel. “ _Yeah_ , break out the champagne, Pinocchio. This is a big deal!” 

Angel smirked. “I guess it is.” 

“Typical. I hook up with the only person in history who ever came to LA to get older,” Cordelia said. 

No one but Angel saw Spike leave the apartment. In all the excitement over the prophecy, they didn’t notice him take off. But, Angel felt him keenly. He could feel the confused emotions coming through the link from his childe. Angel excused himself and stepped outside the apartment to see the blonde vampire leaned back against the wall. 

“It’s just a prophecy, Spike. They come and go every day. There’s always some new prophecy around the corner. This one isn’t any different. I would like to believe one day that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That maybe there is a purpose to having my soul. That doesn’t mean you’ll lose me again. And, though you are my mate and childe, I need something more. We’re vampires, true, but, this is the twentieth century, Spike. The age of when a person found contentment reading by the hearth and drinking himself under the table at the local pub has long past. We need a hobby if we’re going to co-exist in this world,” Angel said. 

“I know,” Spike said and then looked up at his Sire. “I was not made to be a solitary creature, Angel. I spent a hundred years with Drusilla. I could never venture off on my own like you did and Darla did. I stay in Sunnydale when you don’t need me here because Sunnydale is familiar.” Spike waved his hand at the door. “All that prophecy represents to me is loneliness. It pertains to the _one vampire with a soul who’s a champion._ I’m no champion, Sire. I’m a soulless demon relegated to baby-sitting jobs and lending a hand when someone needs the extra muscle.” 

Angel’s face fell at Spike’s words. He stepped closer and hugged the younger vampire against him. “Ah, Spike. You are so much more than extra fists, fangs, and looking after others. I know I’m not good with words like you are--” 

Spike chuckled. “Bloody awful poet is I.” 

Angel smiled. “But, someday I hope I’ve shown you enough so that you’ll see and know how much you mean to me.” 

**************************

**_Los Angeles, Wolfram & Hart_**

Lilah, Holland and Lindsey entered the vault where the crate from the ritual was stored. Lindsey's right arm was in a sling. 

“The senior partners were very impressed with your sacrifice,” Holland said. He nodded when Lindsey looked at him. “Trust me; we'll even the score with them.” 

“Yes, we will,” he agreed. 

Holland nodded again. “Beginning with what's in that box.” 

Lilah leaned closer to look through the bars running along the top of the box. “We are all very pleased you're here,” she spoke as though she were talking to a child. “I know it's a bit confusing, but it's going to be better soon, a lot better . . . Darla.”


	22. Spike's on-line shopping spree to furnish the mansion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

I decide to make a post that listed everything Spike bought for the Crawford Street Mansion when he used Angel's credit card. To give an idea of why he'll be punished for spending $42,764.62.

  
  
[Hibachi Coffee Table](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NO220F1.jpg) (Walnut stain and brass warabite)  
[Display Cabinet](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NOBA081.jpg) (Walnut stain and brass warabite)  
[Tall Kuryo Shelf](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NOA1471.jpg)  
[Wicker TV Console](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NO4AF51.jpg) (for the Bedroom)  
[Miyamoto Entertainment Center](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NO6F801.jpg) (for the Living Room)  
[Wheel Tansu end tables](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NO83511.jpg)  
[Yoshida Cabinet](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NODF7E1.jpg)  
[Dana Tea Chest](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NOC5491.jpg)  
[4-Foot Kitchen Island](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NO92B31.jpg)  
[6-Foot Kitchen Counter](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NOABEE1.jpg)  
[5-Foot Kitchen cupboards](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NOA6D51.jpg)  
[5-Foot Mizuya Pantry](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NORMAL4.jpg)  
[Bean Chest](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NORMAL3.jpg)  
[6-Drawer Chest](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NORMAL2.jpg)  
[Dongbei Buffet](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/NORMAL1.jpg)  
[Pulaski 2611 Series - Casa Majorca Poster Bed with Finial](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/PU1480_L.jpg) (Replace Angel's bed from BTVS S3, which will go in a spare room)  
[Baroness 2-Light Sconces](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/61892861.jpg) (for the Bathroom)  
[Baroness 2-Light Sconces](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/30-12.jpg) (for the Living Room)  
[Aquatic Century Series 31 70 x 48 x 28 Oval Whirlpool Tub](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/CENTUR1.jpg) (The tub Cordelia went ga-ga over)  
[Maax Rainforest Corner Shower Module 44 x 44 x 93](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/JacuzziShower.jpg) (Spike got to use this once before Angel called him down to L.A. in Chapter 17)  
[Ultra French Inswing Patio Doors](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/IMG-UL1.jpg) (to replace the ones Buffy/Faith broke in BTVS S3)  
[Velvet Drapes](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/1266041.jpg)  
[Curtains](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/1266121.jpg) (to go under drapes to give it that layered look)  
[The Area Rugs Angel and Spike argued over](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/1MI.jpg)  
[Hall Runner rugs](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/1M.jpg)  
[Somersby Dining Room Set](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/SOMERS1.jpg) (Costs a fortune)  
[Table Lamps](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/11335.jpg)


	23. How to Treat Your Lover Book 1 Soundtrack Available

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline – After IN THE DARK (Angel: The Series, Season 1/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4)  
> Summary – Feeling disheartened with the events in HARSH LIGHT OF DAY, Spike follows his holy grail to LA only to have the Sire claim re-initiated by his grandsire, who then sent him back to Sunnydale to look after the damn Slayer. Now, he not only has to deal with the Slayer, but the effects of a renewed Sire claim. Angel(us)/Spike; Buffy. Rated NC-17

Below is the front and back covers of the soundtrack for Book 1 of the saga.

 

  
  


[](http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s85/tamibrandt/h2tyl/H2TYLsdtkbk.jpg)


End file.
